BENGALURU: Horticulture Minister SS Mallikarjun on Tuesday said that due to road widening work in various districts and Metro work in Bengaluru, 141 Horticultural Producers’ Cooperative Marketing and Processing Society (Hopcoms) outlets have been closed.
He was replying to Council members, who stated that the state government is not helping farmers through HOPCOMS outlets. The minister said that the horticulture department has given loans amounting to Rs 15 crore to farmers at 10.25% interest per annum. The bylaws of HOPCOMS run by farmers’ society have been changed to sell rice and milk to earn profits.
Earlier in the Upper House, MLC Govindaraju said HOPCOMS has been neglected. Districts such as Kolar can supply vegetables and fruits to HOPCOMS outlets.
Stating that 136 HOPCOMS outlets have been closed, he suggested that mobile stalls should be provided to farmers to sell their produce. Some members said crops such as pomegranate, grapes and watermelon have been damaged in Bagalkot, Vijyapura and Tumakuru districts. A sum of Rs 9,500 has been given as compensation per hectare for crop loss.