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Deve Gowda to lead farmers' group to Delhi today

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore Oct. 18. The former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, will lead a large group of farmers from eight States to New Delhi tomorrow, to draw the attention of the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, to the problems faced by farmers.

The President of the Yuva Janata Dal (Secular), K.N. Chakrapani, told The Hindu here today that the group would leave Bangalore in a special train on Saturday. It would hold a demonstration near Parliament House on October 22. Prior to the commencement of the dharna, Mr. Deve Gowda and members of the group would pay homage at the Raj Ghat, he added.

He said that about 5,000 farmers would assemble near Parliament House for the dharna, and more than 50 per cent of them would be from Karnataka. Farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Maharashta, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Kerala would also participate. While one of the special trains carrying farmers would depart from Bangalore, the other would leave from Mysore and proceed to Delhi via Arsikere and Hubli. Coconut growers, coffee and areca nut growers, tobacco and sugarcane growers, and sericulture farmers, besides a team of farmers affected by the severe drought, would make up the group.

Mr. Chakrapani said the "Delhi Chalo" programme was not being organised to derive any political mileage but to apprise the Union Government of the need to take steps for the welfare of farmers. The WTO agreement had a direct affect on the prices of agricultural commodities, and there was need for the Government to provide adequate subsidies or prevent the dumping of produce by taking policy decisions, including imposition of a high import duty. The sericulture industry in the State had been greatly affected by the dumping of Chinese silk yarn. About 300 farmers from Sathanur and Kanakapura began a "padayatra" from their villages today to arrive in Bangalore tomorrow for the train journey. The rally, which was earlier scheduled for October 2, was postponed because of the developments related to the Cauvery issue.

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