Farmers in Karnataka have incurred loss of Rs 30,000 cr due to drought: CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said the farmers of the state have incurred a loss of Rs 30,000 crore due to drought this year.
According to him, there is a crop loss of 42 lakh hectares and 216 out of 236 taluks of the state have been declared drought-hit.
"There is crop loss of 42 lakh hectares in the state. The farmers have incurred a loss of Rs 30,000 this year. As per the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) norms, we have sought Rs 4,860 crore from the Union government and the Central team has visited the drought-hit areas," Siddaramaiah said addressing people during the inauguration of historic Mysuru Dasara festival.
He said the state government had earlier declared drought in 195 taluks of the state. Now again after the meeting, the cabinet sub-committee has announced drought in 21 taluks. In all, 216 taluks have been declared drought-hit, he said.
Siddaramaiah said the state government will provide input subsidies to the farmers for drinking water, fodder, water for the cattle, employment and other relief measures.
"This year's speciality is that we are witnessing green drought where crops have grown but there is no yield," he noted.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
