Do not pay crop loans till you get water, farmers told

Hubballi: President of Kalasa-Banduri Horata Kendra Samiti Vijay Kulkarni on Monday expressed dismay over the lack of progress with respect to the Mahadayi dispute over the past few years. Those protesting for the resolution of the dispute, in fact, called on farmers to pay their crop loans. The activists are also gearing up to observe Farmer Martyrs’ Day on July 21. Affirming the intention of the farmers to intensify the stir, Kulkarni said, “We will garland the statue of Veerappa Kadlikoppa, who was martyred during our fight, in Chikkanaragund village in Nargund taluk in Gadag district. Since farmers of this region get crop loans only for irrigated farms, they should not pay their loans till they get the water to feed their fields.”
Vikas Soppin, also an activist involved in the fight for Karnataka’s share of the waters of the Mahadayi, said that more than two-and-a-half years after the verdict of the water disputes’ tribunal, the government had not taken any decisive step towards initiating work on the project.
“It has not published the detailed project report nor has the state approached the Union government. But the chief minister has been making announcements on the budget, which is nothing but an eyewash. The chief minister has been approaching the Union government to discuss irrigation projects, but he has not been raising the issue of Kalasa-Banduri,” Soppin said.