Congress MLA Threatens Resignation Over Gadag Drought Declaration

Senior Congress MLA and former Karnataka minister H K Patil on Monday set October 10 as the deadline for the state government to declare Gadag district drought affected, saying he would decide on resigning his Assembly membership if the demand was not met.India NewsPatil has written to Chief Minister D K Shivakumar alleging that officials have kept Gadag out of the drought declaration despite a 49% rainfall deficit and widespread crop failure. He said the issue would be raised during the ongoing three day special legislature session and that he would continue pressing the government until October 2 before deciding whether to resign.“Through this three day session, I will try to put whatever political pressure on the government. I will use this forum to convince everyone. And if, for any reason, I fail, I will continue my persuasion till October 2, Gandhi Jayanti. If nothing happens even till then, by October 10, I will decide to resign my legislator post,” he said.Patil said a meeting of local elected representatives, attended by district in charge minister Bayareddy, had reached a consensus.“After a meeting with our District Minister, Bayareddy, we all were convinced that there is a drought, and we resolved in our MLAs’ meeting that Gadag district as such is to be declared drought hit, not only Gadag taluk. And we very specifically said Gadag taluk is also to be declared as drought hit. Unfortunately, that was not conceded by the officers,” he said.Patil also pointed to Shivakumar’s September 1 visit to Gadag, when the chief minister travelled from Kadampur to Kursakoppa. He said Shivakumar had seen the condition of the crops and was convinced of the severity of the drought.“The Chief Minister, looking at the situation and also the reports received through the media about the drought in Gadag taluk, chose Gadag to visit first. He came to Gadag on September 1, and he went right from Kadampur to Kursakoppa. And he was fully convinced. He was really very unhappy and disturbed because of the grave situation being faced by farmers,” Patil said.Patil alleged that officials had disregarded the chief minister’s directions and excluded Gadag while declaring areas with lower rainfall deficits drought affected. “Where there is a 20% deficit, these officers have declared them as drought affected. Gadag is at minus 49%, and they have chosen to keep it aside,” he said.He also questioned the reliance on rain gauges for drought assessment, referring to reports about how many were functioning. “I am terribly concerned that what is seen by the eyes is not being translated into action. And when the Chief Minister’s instructions are not carried out by these officers, it is very unfortunate. I have already brought it to the notice of the Chief Minister through my letter about Gadag,” Patil said.The Janata Dal (Secular) seized on Patil’s allegations, saying they exposed problems in the Congress government’s handling of the drought. The party questioned why taluks with rainfall deficits of 40% to 60% had allegedly not been declared drought affected and accused officials of taking decisions affecting North Karnataka farmers from Bengaluru.