Melkote MLA K S Puttannaiah warned of observing ‘Black Day’ in the district, if the government failed to respond to the padayatra taken out by the members of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene, demanding revival of MySugar factory.
After flagging off the padayatra from Mandya to Bengaluru, in Mandya, on Monday, Puttannaiah alleged that the government had been delaying the reopening of the factory.
“Delay in crushing of sugar cane in sugar factories is also responsible for the series of farmer deaths in the district. The district in-charge minister has failed to solve the farmers’ issues. Private moneylenders have earned crores of rupees in the form of interest from gullible farmers,” he added.
While the banks have been recovering loans from farmers using recovery agents, who use harsh language, non-banking financial institutions like Muthoot have been auctioning gold ornaments pledged by the farmers. Both the Centre and the RBI have failed to implement new policies, he alleged.
Financially weak
Mandya district has turned financially and politically weak and the youth are migrating to cities in search of jobs. The days are not far, when villages here will turn into old age homes, he lamented.
Paddy grown in 65,000 acres of land have been affected by pests. The government should immediately respond to the farmers problems, and rescue them. Programmes should be chalked out for comprehensive development of the district and declare it as an industrial area. Conducting a survey on the financial empowerment of the district is the need of the hour, he said.
Conspiracy
Pandavapura Sahakara Sakkare Kharkhane (PSSK) president K S Nanjundegowda said, the government had no interest in reopening the MySugar factory, which has resulted in a number of farmers’ death. He alleged that the government was conspiring to transfer the factory into private hands.
The Swabhimana Yatre, which begun on Monday, will culminate at the Freedom Park, in Bengaluru, where a protest will be held against the anti-farmer policies of the government. The government should respond to the issue or take the responsibility for the future course of action, he warned. Konasale Narasaraju, Shambunahalli Suresh, Haniyambadi Nagaraju and others took part.
