Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah meets PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi, asks drought relief fund for state

CM Siddaramaiah also briefed the PM about funds required for emergency relief, drinking water and for the protection of cattle during the period of drought.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday at New Delhi and discussed the drought situation in the state. The chief minister also said that he requested PM to release funds to handle the severe drought in a few regions of the state. Karnataka Revenue minister Krishna Byre Gowda also accompanied CM Siddaramaiah during the meet.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah meets PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi

Karnataka CMO informed that Siddaramaiah has requested the Prime Minister to provide input subsidy for the farmers in the state who are hit by the drought. As crop failure due to lack of rain led to a difficult situation, Siddaramaiah said that the farmers need input subsidy and asked the central government to release the fund as priority.

CM Siddaramaiah also briefed the Prime Minister about funds required for emergency relief, drinking water and for the protection of cattle during the period of drought.

In October, 216 taluks out of the total of 236 taluks in Karnataka were declared as drought affected out of which 189 are severe drought-hit and 27 are moderate drought-hit taluks.

Earlier, Karnataka minister Krishna Byre Gowda expressed displeasure that the central government does not have the accurate data on number of small and micro farmers in the state, because of which the state is being treated unfairly regarding disbursal of the drought relief fund.

He then said, “There are about 68 to 70 per cent small farmers in the state. However, according to the previous census of the central government, it is only 45 per cent. Therefore, the drought relief fund that is being released to the state is also unfair."