Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the fungicides are distributed to arecanut growers to carry out spray to check leaf spot diseases affecting arecanut.
The government is fully prepared to take steps to prevent the spread of disease in arecanut, he told mediapersons on his arrival at Kadur in Chikkamagaluru on Tuesday.
After leaf spot disease was spotted in Malnad, the concerned universities, central government agencies and departments have been asked to find solutions to the disease. The state government has already announced Rs 10 crore to provide financial aid to the growers to spray fungicide on the trees and thus protect their crops in the state.
"If the scientists study the cause of the disease and find a solution, then the government will take action accordingly," he said and added that the government has taken this problem seriously as this disease is spreading on a large scale.
On compensation to the loss of crops including onions in Malnad and the plain area, the Chief Minister said the government had increased the amount of compensation for the loss of crops due to heavy rain. Already, Rs 99 crore compensation has been disbursed among the farmers. If the district administration submits a report on the loss, then the government will pay the compensation. In the past, compensation was paid after one year of the loss. Now, the government has come to the rescue of the farmers and paid compensation within one and a half months.
To a query, the CM said "in 2013, people trusted and voted for Siddaramaiah who became chief minister. He failed to keep the faith of the people. There is no question of people trusting him again," he said.
(Published 15 November 2022, 13:47 IST)
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