Congress MLA Ashok Rai raises concerns over yellow disease in arecanut crops in DK district
Belagavi: Congress MLA from Puttur constituency, Ashok Rai has voiced his concerns regarding farmer suffering from the detection of yellow disease in arecanut crops in 10 villages of Sullia taluk during the discussion on drought in the Legislative Assembly on Friday here at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha.
Rai highlighted that there is 37,317 hectares of land in 10 villages of Sulya Taluk. Of this, 11,449 hectares are agricultural land. Out of this, 5558 farmers have grown arecanut crop in 5111 hectare area and are suffering from yellow disease, he said.
“Even though the yellow disease has been detected in the arecanut crop, no relief has been announced to the farmers so far. Farmers are in debt. The price of arecanut per quintal has come down to Rs 410 from Rs 480-500.” He further demanded that Rs 700 per day should be paid to agricultural workers. “Amidst such conditions, the central government has cleared the nod to import 12 thousand tons of arecanut.”
He highlighted the need for the state agriculture minister to engage with the central government to address the challenges faced by arecanut growers in the state. Rai warned that if the yellow disease spreads from Sullia to Puttur, it could lead to more significant issues.
Additionally, Rai mentioned that the central government has submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court claiming that nuts contain nicotine. He urged the state government to engage in discussions with the Center to ensure that arecanuts from the state do not contain nicotine, addressing potential health concerns.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
