BENGALURU: Opposition party leaders have warned the government of taking to the streets in protest if it fails to help those in distress due to the 40-day lockdown. Leaders of the Congress, JDS and representatives of farmers’ associations on Thursday discussed problems faced by citizens, and have decided to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister.
“This is not election politics - our only objective is to help farmers, those working in unorganised sectors and others hit by the lockdown. We will submit a memorandum to the CM with a list of demands. If the government fails to help those in distress, we will hit the streets and protest,” said Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah.
“As per government information, in a total of 64,340 hectares, a yield of 17.38 lakh tonnes of vegetables is expected, and in 1.93 lakh hectares, yield of around 32.55 lakh tonnes of fruits is expected. Farmers are suffering huge losses,” he said.
The government had earlier announced that it will procure agricultural produce from farmers, but leaders of farmers’ associations say this is yet to take off. Senior JDS leaders HD Revanna and Bandeppa Kashempur, former Speaker Ramesh Kumar, Opposition leader in the legislative council SR Patil, CPIM leader Nagaraju, farmers’ associations leaders Kodihalli Chandrasekhar, Kurubur Shantakumar and others attended the meeting.