Hubli: Far from bringing hope to farmers, the visit of the Central drought inspection team to the state has angered many of them, who see it as too late to help them in any way.
“The government has sent an ambulance for treating a patient who is already dead and buried. The visit of the Central drought inspection team to the state at this time seems a mere formality and will not redress our problems.
Moreover, the team cannot give a complete picture of the drought situation as the Kharif season is long passed,” said Basavaraj Pujar, a poor farmer of Shirahatti town , Gadag district.
“The Central team should have visited the region in September when the state was reeling under severe drought. This visit is just a formality as the team members cannot do a proper drought assessment,” said farmers’ leader, C Narasimhappa.
The drought inspection team which has been touring the region for the last two days has heard about drinking water problems and fodder scarcity in villages and seen for itself dried up lakes and crops dying in fields owing to poor rainfall.
Mines and geology department officials, who have accompanied the Central team, have also found the ground water level depleted considerably.
The the paltry compensation they have received despite having suffered drought for two consecutive years has left many farmers unhappy as well.
