‘Remove Patil as minister’

Mysuru: State Sugarcane Farmers Association chief Kurbur Shantakumar on Monday accused agriculture minister BC Patil of lack of empathy for the farming community and asked chief minister Basavaraj Bommai to replace him.
According to Shantakumar, the minister has no time to hear and address the issues faced by the farmers in the state. He has rarely held a meeting with the farmers, which indicates his lack of interest in the department that he heads, Shantakumar said.
He said that the hike of Rs 100 in procurement price of sugarcane will help the farmers.
Shantakumar said the farmers will launch an agitation if the state government takes up the proposal to merge KMF with Amul as indicated by the Union home and cooperation minister Amit Shah. He said 50 per cent of those in the milk industry are women, who will face problems.