Amid rice crisis, Karnataka government prays for good rains
Amid fears of drought, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Saturday that the government is praying for good rains in the state.
"We're praying for good rains. Sowing has started in some places. We're ready to take up sowing whenever it rains. The agriculture department has been asked to keep seeds, fertilisers and pesticides ready," Siddaramaiah told reporters.
The CM said rains have started to pick up in all districts. "But rainfall is yet to properly spread," he said.
Good rainfall will be a silver lining for the Congress government that is scrambling to find rice to fulfil its Anna Bhagya promise. Under this scheme, the government will provide an additional 5 kg rice to every BPL member.
"The union government wants to scuttle our pro-poor programme by not agreeing to give us rice. They have sufficient rice...We're saying we'll pay for it. We get 5 kg from the union government at Rs 36.70 per kg. We will pay the same rate," Siddaramaiah said, slamming the BJP government for being "anti-poor".
Karnataka requires 2.29 lakh metric tonnes of rice to give additional 5 kg rice to BPL families. "We're not getting rice. We spoke to Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh...even if there's rice, the rate is high," Siddaramaiah said. "No state has 2.29 lakh metric tonnes that we need. Telangana says they'll give paddy. Chhattisgarh can give 1.5 lakh metric tonnes for one month. What do we do for the next month? Punjab doesn't have enough rice to give. They say they can give from November. Andhra Pradesh also doesn't have," he said.
The state has enough Ragi and maize for six months. "If we give 2 kg of Ragi and maize, we'll still need 3 kg of rice," the CM said. Buying rice from the open market will take time because of the tender process, he added.
The government is trying to procure rice from National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the Kendriya Bhandar.
Siddaramaiah chaired a meeting to review quotations given by the three agencies. "We're negotiating with them," he said.
Food & Civil Supplies Minister KH Muniyappa told DH that the three agencies would get back to the state government on the availability of rice and its price in a week's time.