Siddaramaiah seeks discussion on crop loss due to rains, floods in Karnataka

December 14, 2021

Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah on Monday insisted on holding a discussion on crop loss due to the recent rain and the subsequent floods in the state.
However, Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri deferred the discussion to Tuesday as Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was not present in the House to reply.
As Siddaramaiah wanted a reply only from Bommai, the former, too, readily agreed to defer the discussion.
Bommai left for Varanasi on Monday to participate in the BJP chief ministers’ conference and is expected to return to Belagavi on Tuesday evening.
However, making a preliminary submission, Siddaramaiah charged that though Karnataka was affected in the recent rain with farmers incurring huge losses, the Narendra Modi Union Government did not release a single rupee to the state.
“Every region of Karnataka has received above-normal rainfall. Twenty-three of the 31 districts have been affected. Rainfall in November was double the normal rain,” he added.
He said crop cultivated in 78.83 lakh hectares (75% of the total cultivated area) has been destroyed due to rain and floods this year.

“In south interior Karnataka, ragi is grown in 7 lakh hectares and 75-80 per cent of it is lost. Similarly, crop loss is reported in north interior Karnataka and coastal districts too,” he claimed.
“Crop loss in Karnataka in the last two years is estimated at Rs 2.5 lakh crore. But the Centre has released a paltry sum. This year, the Modi government has not even released a penny. I will submit before the House more statistics on the relief amount released by the Centre to Karnataka and the injustice meted out to the state when the actual discussion takes place,” he concluded.