BENGALURU: A shortage of urea and fertilisers threatens to derail a promising sowing season blessed by generous monsoon rains in Karnataka. What should have been a season of hope has quickly turned into one of anger and despair, triggering sharp attacks from farmers, politicians, and agricultural experts alike — who accuse the Congress-led State Government of apathy and administrative failure.
Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra was among the first to raise the red flag. “The rains have come, the fields are ready, but where is the urea, where are the fertilisers?” he said. “Farmers are being betrayed by a system that should have ensured seamless supply. The government must wake up... this is the peak season and any delay is a death blow to the crop,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition in the Council Chalavadi Narayanswamy said that the State Government cannot keep hiding behind lame excuses. “If there is no shortage, why are farmers standing in kilometre-long queues and returning empty-handed? Where is the stock they claim to have?” he asked.
Academia also joined the chorus. Former UAS-Bengaluru professor Dr Prakash Kammardi, an expert in agricultural economics, slammed the state’s preparedness. “It is elementary economics. Good rains mean immediate fertiliser demand. Why wasn’t the agriculture department ready? This is nothing short of administrative sleepwalking,” he said.
On the ground, the situation is nearing a flashpoint. Farmer leader Kurubur Shantakumar painted a grim picture. “There is a total breakdown. Outlets across the state are putting up ‘No Stock’ boards. In places like Kalaburagi, farmers erupted in flash protests. Both the state and the Centre must stop the blame game and act. Enough is enough,” he thundered.
The crisis also drew fire from JDS leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who launched a scathing attack during a party membership drive in Sringeri. “Farmers are waiting 4-5 hours just to get one bag of fertiliser. What kind of governance is this? When my father HD Kumaraswamy was the CM, pending applications for irrigation pump sets were at 25,000. Today, they have exploded to 2.5 lakh. The government is asleep at the wheel,” he said.
Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy attempted to calm nerves. “There is no shortage,” he said. “We usually distribute 6.8 lakh metric tonnes of fertilisers—this year we’ve already distributed 6.5 lakh, and we have 1.94 lakh in reserve. People should not panic,” he said.