“Scanty rainfall has made our life miserable as we have lost all our crops. Kindly waive our loan which will give us some relief.” This was the earnest request by farmers to the Cabinet sub-committee on drought, headed by Minister for Large-Scale Industries R.V. Deshpande.
The farmers poured out their woes before members of the committee who visited parts of the district on Friday.
The farmers said that they had been incurring losses owing to consecutive years of drought and they were unable to recover even the cost of cultivation.
They said that they had spent a substantial amount on seeds and fertilizer but had no hopes that they would get profits.
The committee held a review meeting later and collected information from Deputy Commissioner K.B. Shivakumar.
Later, addressing presspersons, Mr. Deshpande said that the government was doing everything to provide relief to farmers in distress. He said that the priority was to ensure supply of drinking water to parched areas.
Financial aid
Mr. Patil said that with the State facing drought for the last three years, the government had sought financial aid from the Union government to take up relief works.
He said that though the State government was awaiting the release of funds, they had not stopped works meant to help the affected people.
The committee members also visited parts of Bagalkot district. District in-charge Minister M.B. Patil was present.
