Shivamogga, Apr 13: Banana farmers in Shivamogga say their crop is rotting and they are incurring huge losses amid lockdown due to COVID-19.
The farmers alleged that although permission has been granted for the sale of agricultural products, with inter-district movements being affected, the local buyers are forcing the farmers to sell their produce at ridiculously low prices.
"Local buyers are asking us to sell bananas at Rs 4-5 per kg which is impossible for us. I do not know what we can do," Vijayendra, a farmer told ANI here.
"We expected the markets to be good during the summer season, I have cultivated bananas in four acres of land. There are thousands of other farmers who cultivate it in smaller hoardings," he added.
The farmer further implored the government to ensure there is an open market and inter-district movement of agricultural produce is allowed to ensure the farmers get the right price.
Vijayendra also said that the bananas have started rotting as they were not being harvested due to the lockdown.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last month announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from March 24 midnight to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease, which spreads rapidly.
There is also the likelihood that the nationwide lockdown might further be extended even after the completion of the 21-day period on April 14, based on the statements from several chief ministers following a video conference with the Prime Minister held a few days earlier.
Bengaluru, Jan 6: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday said he would not get involved in any 'wicked act' of bringing down the B S Yediyurappa-led government in Karnataka, amid claims that 15 to 20 BJP MLAs were ready to come out.
Clarifying that he would not disturb the government, the former Chief Minister said for him, the development of the state was important. "With great difficulty, you (Yediyurappa) have become Chief Minister for the fourth time, (I am) happy, I have nowhere said that I will disturb your government. Even now some people come and ask why I'm sitting silent when 15-20 people are ready to come out of BJP and why don't I make an attempt (to poach them), Kumaraswamy said. Speaking to reporters in Hassan, he sought to know why he should get entangled in that 'sludge' and he was not in a hurry.
"I will not get involved in a wicked act of removing a responsible government like Yediyurappa did. For me the development of the state is important," he said.
Though Kumaraswamy had raised questions about the longevity of the BJP government ahead of the December 5 bypolls, he had even then given clear indications that he would not attempt to pull down the administration as it would affect the development of the state.
The ruling BJP had swept the by-elections by winning 12 of the total 15 seats, helping the Yediyurappa government retain the majority in the Assembly.
With BJP winning 12 of the 15 assembly constituencies, it's numbers went up from 105 (including an independent) to 117, which is well ahead of the halfway mark of 111 in a 223-member Assembly (two seats-- Maski and R R Nagar-- are vacant due to pending litigation in the High Court).
The BJP came to power after the Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition government collapsed as 17 MLAs had rebelled against the alliance leadership and resigned as legislators, to later favour the saffron party.
Bengaluru, Mar 20: The high court on Thursday directed the government to notify on its official website the penal provisions to be enforced against private schools violating norms relating to fees and safety of students, among other things. A division bench of chief justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka granted six weeks to the authorities to comply while disposing of a PIL filed by advocate NP Amrutesh.
Earlier, the state government submitted a memo stating that necessary amendments have been brought to Karnataka Education Act in 2017. It said any breach of students' safety entails a minimum jail term of six months and Rs 1 lakh fine for a convicted employee or member of the management. Any institution found guilty by the District Education Regulatory Authority will face disaffiliation and must pay a fine of Rs 10 lakh, the memo said.
Schools collecting donations and other fees beyond what is prescribed can be fined up to Rs 10 lakh and they must refund the excess fee.
In relation to schools charging for applications and brochures, the state capped their prices at Rs 5 and Rs 20 respectively, by issuing a gazzette notification last year.
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We are already facing lot of problems here without food and money.
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