Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday assured the Legislative Council that the State government would come to the rescue of arecanut farmers if prices crashed.
In his reply to a discussion on the ban on gutka, Siddaramaiah said “The market is presently stable for arecanuts. In case there is any trouble, we (government) will come forward to assist them (growers),” he said.
Siddaramaiah said that presently, areca growers didn’t face any problems. He quoted the current market prices of the nuts and said that there was only a minor fluctuation and it was nothing alarming.
The CM also said that, if required, a meeting of legislators who represent the arecanut growing region would be called to discuss any problems that farmers are facing.
Earlier, Siddaramaiah reiterated that the State government had no other solution but to immediately ban gutka as they were given a four-week deadline, from May 3, by the Supreme Court.
Published 06 June 2013, 19:39 IST