Siddaramaiah urges Centre to supply 1.65 lakh tonne of urea to Karnataka
Bengaluru, Jul 25 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday urged the union government to expedite the supply of 1.65 lakh tonne of urea to the state, citing concerns over growing distress among farmers due to fertiliser shortage.
In a letter addressed to Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers J P Nadda, Siddaramaiah pointed out that although the Centre had allocated 11.17 lakh tonne of urea for Karnataka for the ongoing Kharif season, the state has received only 5.16 lakh tonne so far, against a projected requirement of 6.8 lakh tonne by July.
"I request you to direct the concerned officers to expedite the supply of the shortfall of 1,65,541 metric tonnes of urea, as per the state’s allocation, in the interest of our farmers," the CM stated in the letter, which he also shared on his official 'X' handle.
Siddaramaiah noted that some fertiliser companies have expressed their inability to supply urea as per the Government of India’s allocation. He further highlighted that an early monsoon and increased acreage under cultivation—particularly in command areas of the Tungabhadra, Cauvery, and Krishna basins—have led to a surge in demand.
"The area under maize, a fertiliser-intensive crop, has increased by nearly two lakh hectares, while the area under pulses has declined compared to previous years," he said. Additionally, around 13,000 hectares of pre-Kharif land had to be resown.
The CM said that the urea shortage is creating unrest among the farming community.
Responding to Siddaramaiah’s post, the Department of Fertilisers stated on ‘X’ that it has already ensured timely and adequate availability of 8.73 lakh metric tonne of urea to Karnataka—well above the pro-rata requirement of 6.30 lakh metric tonne for the ongoing Kharif 2025 season.
Karnataka's farmers are facing a severe shortage of Urea.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 25, 2025
Against our requirement of 6.8 lakh MT from April to July, only 5.1 lakh MT has been supplied by the Union Govt. Early monsoons and expanded crop coverage have spiked demand, creating unrest among farmers.
I have urged… pic.twitter.com/7HqpOIfFM9
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Omarzai powers Afghanistan to 5-wicket win over UAE
New Delhi (PTI): Azmatullah Omarzai produced an all-round show to power Afghanistan to five-wicket win over United Arab Emirates in their Group D T20 World Cup fixture here on Monday.
Omarzai first returned with figures of 4/15 to help restrict UAE to 160 for 9.
He then played a match-winning cameo of 40 not out after Ibrahim Zadran scored 53 to take Afghanistan to their first win in the ongoing edition.
For UAE, Sohaib Khan scored his second consecutive fifty, smashing 68 off 48 balls while Alishan Sharafu contributed 31-ball 40.
Brief Score.
UAE 160 for 9 in 20 overs (Sohaib Khan 68, Alishan Sharafu 40; Azmatullah Omarzai 4/15).
Afghanistan 162 for 5 in 19.2 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 53; Azmatullah Omarzai 40 not out; Muhammad Arfan 2/30, Junaid Siddique 2/23).
