Bengaluru
Amid criticism from the Opposition BJP over a fertiliser shortage in Karnataka, the state’s Agriculture Department has clarified that it sent six letters to the Union Fertiliser Ministry since April, seeking adequate supply of DAP and urea. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also wrote to the Centre on the matter, the department added.
Officials said they also raised the issue during weekly video conferences with central authorities. They pointed out that an early monsoon and a 2-lakh-hectare rise in maize cultivation requiring higher fertiliser input intensified the demand.
The department stated that while Karnataka requested 12.95 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of urea, the Centre approved only 11.17 lakh MT. From April to July, the state received 5.35 lakh MT against a demand of 6.8 lakh MT. Similarly, only 2.21 lakh MT of DAP was supplied, despite a demand of 3.03 lakh MT.
Meanwhile, BJP MLC N Ravikumar accused the state government of reducing fertiliser subsidies and failing to provide quality seeds, blaming it for farmer distress in both northern and southern Karnataka.