Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in Assembly Jagadish Shettar on Saturday demanded the Central Government to announce a special package for the benefit of farmers in drought-affected areas in the state.
Speaking with media persons after meeting the Central team led by Niraj Adimam, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Agriculture, here, Jagadish Shettar said that he had explained the difficulties of farmers in areas reeling under severe drought. “Many farmers are suffering due to the drought for the second consecutive year in the state. More than 2,000 farmers have committed suicide since 2013 due to crop loss. I have requested the Central team to recommend the Central Government to announce a special package since more than 75 per cent of the state is reeling under severe drought,” Jagadish Shettar said.
He said the water storage level at 13 major reservoirs was less than 60 per cent and electricity generation was not possible at Linganamakki and Supa reservoirs due to shortage of water. “The water storage at major reservoirs is at 434.14 TMC as against 825.35 TMC due to the failure of south-west monsoon. It has become difficult to generate power due to lack of sufficient water storage at reservoirs,” he said.
