An emotional cry for help from an onion farmer in Karnataka who was unable to take her produce to the markets in Bengaluru caught the attention of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. Vasantha, an onion farmer from Katanayakanahalli in Hiriyur taluk of Chitradurga district highlighted her plight in a video on social media that soon went viral.
Moved by her plight, the CM personally intervened, by not only calling Vasantha but also directed the Deputy Commissioner of Chitradurga district to speak to her and resolve the issue. He hailed Vasantha, lauding her intelligence.
The gesture by the Chief Minister last week, however, has opened a Pandora's box of problems after a marigold farmer in Vijayapura district made a similar video appeal to the Chief Minister, seeking his intervention to help flower-growers in the region.
“Flower-growers don't know where to turn. Those who used to grow flowers in a few acres of land are struggling. The other day, the Chief Minister intervened when an onion-grower caught his attention. Yediyurappa, as a state Chief Minister, should not just address the problem of one onion farmer. There are several onion farmers in Vijayapura and their problems should be solved too,” he says, in a video appeal.
The farmer then went on to recite 12th century social reformer Basavanna, highlighting the work of farmers.
The 22-year-old farmer in the video is Sachin Balagond from Basavana Bagewadi taluk in Vijayapura district. He had grown 120 tonnes of flowers in eight acres of land.
Speaking to TNM, he says that farmers in his area are distressed since they are unable to sell their produce and seeking help from the CM.
“We have worked hard to grow this so I felt that if the Chief Minister intervenes, we can sell what we have grown. The idea of facing losses because we are unable to sell what we have grown is very distressing,” Sachin says.
Meanwhile, several farmers in Karnataka have resorted to throwing away their crops due to a lack of buyers during the lockdown period. “A farmer gets a sense of relief when his produce goes out, but when it is here in front of us, it adds to our worries. We are already staring at an uncertain future but we hope we can at least recoup the money out of what we have grown,” Sachin says.