Santosh Hegde too slams Amnesty International, justifies sedition charge

Bengaluru, Mar 9: The BJP government in Karnataka on Monday scrapped the Shaadi Bhagya Scheme that was launched by Congress government in the state in 2013.

Under the scheme, Rs 50,000 was given to Muslim brides for marriage expenses after they submitted their Aadhar and BPL cards.

While the previous coalition government had allocated Rs 60 crore budget for the scheme, the BJP government decided to discontinue the scheme. Congress called the move by the state government as "anti-minority".

"They have launched a scheme for the majority community. I welcome that. But why are you discontinuing one scheme? It is a small scheme where marginalized people get a little help from the government," Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad told reporters.

"He (Karnataka Chief Minister) has wilfully reduced the money allotted to all the schemes," he added.

BJP MLA Basavana Gowda Patil Yantal welcomed the decision of the Karnataka Government to scrap the scheme.

"The minority does not need appeasement because equal citizenship needs to apply to all in this country. I wholeheartedly welcome this move by the Karnataka Government," Yantal told reporters.

"Should we not give the majority people anything in India? India not giving anything to the majority, is that secular? We have already given them Pakistan," he said.

The MLAs from the minority community in the state have demanded a meeting with the Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.

Bengaluru, May 25: With the reporting of 93 more fresh cases of COVID-19, the total number of pandemic cases were surged to 2182 in Karnataka on Monday.

According to official sources, highest number of new cases of COVID-19 pandemic, were reported from Udupi (32), Kalaburagi (16), Yadagiri (15), Bengaluru Urban (08), Dakshina Kannada (04) in the last 24-hours in the state.

The fresh cases were also reported form Mandya, Belagavi, Ramanagara, Vijayapura, Kolara, Ballari and Dharwada district.

Bengaluru, Mar 30: The nationwide lockdown has left the state on the brink of a fresh agrarian crisis.

The lack of transport facilities spells doom for ready-to-harvest grapes worth Rs 500-600 crore in Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur and Kolar districts. Unable to find buyers, several farmers have begun dumping their produce into compost pits.

On Sunday, Munishamappa, a farmer in Chikkaballapur, emptied four truckloads of grapes into the pit as buyers didn’t turn up due to the lockdown. “If the grapes wither and fall to the ground, it will affect the soil’s fertility and I will be forced to dispose of them,” he said.

Venkata Krishnappa, Munishamappa’s son, said their 1.5-acre vineyard yielded 25 tonnes of grapes. “Just before the lockdown, 10 tonnes were harvested and delivered to the market. Due to lack of transport, buyers haven’t turned up for the remaining 15 tonnes which we are dumping into the pit.”

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Anjaneya Reddy, a farmer leader, said that in Chikkaballapur alone, they have cultivated grapes on 2,000 acres. “Even if you consider 15 tonnes per acre as yield, there are about 30,000 tonnes ready to be harvested in the district. At a market rate of Rs 50 to Rs 60 per kilogram, the net worth will be Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore. And if you consider the crop in Kolar and Bengaluru Rural, grapes worth Rs 500 to Rs 600 crore are at stake,” he explained.

The ‘Dilkush’ grapes is the most preferred variety of domestic consumption, according to the farmers.

This apart, farmers would have invested about Rs 3 lakh to 4 lakh per acre on fertilisers, pesticide and labour. “With markets being shut and no of the transport facilities available, farmers are forced to dump their produce into pits. It is high time the government intervened and provided us with market options so that farmers can sell at an affordable price of Rs 30 to 40,” Reddy said.

Somu, a farmer in Ganjam village of Srirangapattana, dumped two tonnes of chikku (sapota) citing market shutdown in Mandya. Reddy appealed to the government to emulate the Maharashtra model where the government is helping farmers market fruits through Hopcoms or dairy units as nutrient supplements to people.