MANDYA: Moved by the news of a farmer committing suicide in this verdant district, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi insisted on paying last respects to Lokesh, 38, of Sanabada village in Pandavapura taluk, and assured his kin that the government would address all problems of growers, on Friday.
“Don't take extreme steps. The state government is always with you to mitigate your problems. Our government is committed to helping you in every manner,” he told the grieving family.
In fact, Mr Gandhi, who learnt of the suicide on his arrival in Bengaluru, brushed aside officers of SPG as they did not want the leader to visit the village which was tense following the tragedy. Mr Gandhi boarded a car along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president Dr G Parameshwar and left for the village though they had to traverse uneven terrain during an hour-long drive.
By the time he reached the village, the kin of Lokesh were weeping inconsolably as the farmer had ended his life because he could not repay loans of Rs 4 lakhs. Mr Gandhi spoke to the family members and also handed over a cheque of Rs 1 lakh. During his interaction with the family members, Dr Parameshwar and Mr Siddaramaiah played the role of translators. The leader promised the members that education expenses of Lokesh’s children would be met by the state government.
On his way back, Mr Gandhi visited Panakanahalli village in Mandya taluk where Mr Mahesh, a farmer, committed suicide recently. The mother of farmer broke down while explaining the circumstances which forced her son to end his life. She said he had borrowed around Rs 4.5 lakh from a bank to marry off his two sisters. Of the 2.5 acres of land, he had reportedly sold two acres to repay debt.
As debt was mounting, Mr Mahesh was left with no choice but end his life. She also showed a notice that she received from bank recently asking to repay Rs 50,000. Mr Mahesh's mother requested Mr Gandhi to help her acquire a cow to eke out a living. Moved by her plight, he handed over a cheque for 1 one lakh, and promised all help.
Policy for budding entrepreneurs soon
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday advised the state government to put in place a new policy to encourage budding entrepreneurs, while stressing that such an initiative should be the best in the country.
During an interaction with chief executive officers of start-ups held here, Mr Gandhi was informed by industries minister R.V. Deshpande that such a policy was in the offing. “Karnataka will be the first state to do this,” Mr Deshpande added.
At this juncture, Mr Gandhi advised that the state government to convene a two-day meeting of representatives of 200 start-ups to elicit their opinion before formulating the policy. “We need not worry about the first or the last, it should be best in the country,” he added.
Mr Gandhi wanted to know how these start-ups could scale up their activity in order to provide more employment opportunities. One of the suggestions made during the meeting was that the government should withdraw unutilised land allotted to designated industries and allot the same to start-ups.
Quoting chief executive officers of start-ups, including medical diagnostics manufacturing firm based in Mysuru to a gaming apps company in Udupi, Prof Rajeev Gowda, MP, who was present at the meeting, told Deccan Chronicle that these head honchos had suggested the government to come out with a strategy to make available trained human resources for start up companies operating from tier-II cities.
“You can create Udupi-Mangaluru corridor or Hubbali-Belagavi corridor where trained human capital be made available for companies,” said one of the chief executive officers. Information Technology and Biotechnology minister S.R. Patil replied that the state government was working with engineering colleges to resolve this issue.
Today’s schedule
10:50 am: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi arrived in a helicopter at VC farm in Mandya district. He was accompanied by CM Siddaramaiah, KPCC President Dr G Parameshwar, former external affairs minister S. M. Krishna and party general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Digvijay Singh.
11:05 am: He held a meeting with Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues to get an overall view about the present situation in Karnataka, and steps taken by the government to alleviate problems of farmers.
11:40 am: He left VC farm for Pandavapurataluk in a car to meet the family members of a farmer who committed suicide on Thursday night.
1:40 pm: Mr Gandhi returned to VC farm for an interaction with progressive farmers, students of agriculture, and scientists.
2:45pm: He spoke to the media for about four minutes and left VC farm for lunch.
4:05 pm: Mr Gandhi returned to VC farm and flew back to Bengaluru in a helicopter.
4.45 pm: He addressed newly elected members of Gram Panchayats.
6.30 pm: Mr Gandhi participated in a meeting of the executive committee of KPCC
