BENGALURU: To keep his ‘pro-farmer’ image intact and highlight his government’s commitment to the farming community, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had announced that he will hold a series of ‘meet the farmers’ programmes. The first of such interactions will be held in Bidar on Thursday. During his Independence Day speech, Kumaraswamy had announced ‘Raitha Spandana’ programmes as a measure to boost the confidence of the farming community and promote agriculture as a profitable sector. The series is also expected to boost his prospects of holding a mammoth farmers’ rally this December or January next year where Kumaraswamy intends to invite leaders of all non-BJP parties from across the country for the second time.
‘Raitha Spandana’ is also expected to be an attempt to woo the farming community that is yet to receive any benefits, including debt-free certificates. The delay in implementation of the farm loan waiver has angered many farmers and Kumaraswamy hopes to defuse tension and maintain his popularity among the farming community through his interaction with farmers. During his day-long stay in Bidar, Kumaraswamy will visit a progressive farmer’s farm in Chitta village before addressing a gathering of 800 farmers.
Even as a single farmer is yet to receive debt-free certificates from banks under the loan waiver scheme, a statement from the Chief Minister’s office said that the roll-out will begin around the end of November. “Co-op banks and Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies have started data entry of crop loan across the state. Data of 3 lakh farmers out of 20 lakh co-op crop loanees have been entered. PACS will complete data entry by November end. Deputy Commissioner of districts have been made nodal implementation officer and are fully working on the smooth roll out of the scheme. A helpline will be shared at the time of roll out,” the statement said.