Date:04/07/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/07/04/stories/2009070452060300.htm

Karnataka - Bidar

Separate budget for agriculture demanded

Staff Correspondent

Sangha to launch protest if demand is not met

Bidar: Members of the district unit of the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha (KRRS) urged the Union Government to present a separate budget for agriculture.

In a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, they said that though about 70 per cent of the population in the country depended on agriculture and related activities, it was unfortunate that there was no separate budget with policies and welfare measures for the benefit of the farming community.

The sangha members, led by its district unit president Vishwanath Patil Koutha, submitted the memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner in Bidar.

They said in the memorandum that if the Union Government did not present a separate budget for agriculture, the sangha would launch a districtwide protest.

The memorandum also said though there was no need to present a separate railway budget all governments continued the practice which the British rulers in India had started years ago.