Thousands of farmers from Mysuru will participate in the Bengaluru Chalo agitation and take part in the ‘’Parallel Budget Session’’ to be conducted by Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and other organisations to highlight their demands for repealing of State laws on agricultural reforms.
The Bengaluru Chalo will see convergence of farmers from all over the State and a parallel budget session - coinciding with the ongoing Assembly session - at Freedom Park from March 21 to 23 to draw attention to their pending demands.
The key demands of the farmers are withdrawal of the APMC Act, amendments to the Land Reforms Act, Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020 besides opposition to any move on privatisation of power sector in the State.
Vasanth Kumar, district president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, and Hoskote Basavaraj, General Secretary, said here on Wednesday that the amendment to the Land Reforms Act has left farmers with small land holdings vulnerable and they were selling their plots for a pittance to overcome immediate financial needs. The registration of purchase and mutation of agricultural land has increased by 42 per cent across the State and in Mysuru district too the figures were very high.
Mr. Vasanth Kumar said this will have a bearing on food security and despite the seriousness of the issue neither the ruling party nor the Opposition were discussing or airing it in the ongoing Assembly session. Hence the farmers have decided to hold a parallel budget session in Bengaluru to highlight the key issues which the elected representatives should ideally be discussing.
Though the Centre has repealed the three contentious farm laws as a result of an year-long agitation, the State Government was ‘stubborn’ and hence the farmers convention will bring these issues into focus, he added.
Underlining the crisis plaguing the agricultural sector, the KRRS leaders said the input cost was on the rise while there was a decline in agricultural income and hence the farmers were incurring loss. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi - in the runup to the 2014 general elections - had promised doubling of farm income by 2022, it is the income of a few industrialists that has doubled while the farmers are still eking out a hand-to-mouth existence, according to Hoskote Basavaraj.
The law banning cow slaughter enacted by the State was based on sentiments, according to KRRS, who said that the farmers have been badly affected as they are not in a position to maintain the livestock as there is no market for it anymore. Instead of the promised doubling of farmers income the Act has helped shrink the existing income’, said the KRRS leaders.
