Date:05/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/05/stories/2008070553230500.htm

Karnataka

Higher price for tomato soon

Staff Correspondent

KOLAR: Even as the minimum support price issue for tomato in Kolar and Chickballapur districts remained unresolved, MLA Varthur Prakash has promised steps to mitigate the miseries of the tomato growers.

Mr. Prakash told presspersons here on Friday that efforts were on to issue an order fixing support price of Rs. 2 a kg for tomato.

Referring to a similar crisis in 2006, Mr. Prakash, who is the Chairman of Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board, said that traders and middle men swindled huge amount released to provide relief to farmers that year. This would not be repeated this time, he said.

Steps would be taken to avoid middlemen and reach the relief directly to the aggrieved farmers, he said.

According to a report from Bangalore, the Minister for Agriculture Marketing and Sugar Shivaraj Tangadagi had directed authorities concerned to provide Rs 30 per quintal tomato as support price during procurement. While the Minister asked Kolar Deputy Commissioner to utilise Rs. 25 lakh fund which was with the district administration, Rs. 15 lakh had been released for Chickballapur district for the purpose.

But according to Deputy Commissioner B. Shivappa, the district administration was yet to receive any official communication in this regard. Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee too did not get any official message, APMC secretary M. Krishnan told The Hindu.

Meanwhile, scores of farmers staged a dharna in front of APMC office demanding Rs. 5 as minimum support price.