Mangalore: A procession take out from Jyothi circle to DCO office gates on Wednesday at noon by KRRS members who came from all parts of Karnataka and other states in a “storm the DK-DCO office” protest rally saw Kodihalli Chandrashekhar leading the agitated farmers to demand all agricultural loans of arecanut farmers to demand all agricultural loans of arecanut farmers in DK Udupi and Kodagu districts to be waived off, to provide a rehabilitation package to distressed farmers, and not acquire or notify agricultural lands in the name of senseless “development” in around Bangalore at the cost of other parts of the state by the ruling govt, that creates new problems for the food-providing farmers instead of solving the existing difficulties/issues before them.
Addressing the mammoth rally, Kodihally called upon farmers (termed ‘brothers’ by him)to rise upto fight injustice and to collectively surge into the DCO premises, to save farming and tenancy methods. He pointed out that multi-national foreign companies were exploiting Indian wealth by bribery and manipulation of investments, and exports suffer under World Trade Centre malpractices of robbing farming nations.
The Indian farmers in many states including plantations in Karnataka, were suffering from loan burdens and farmers were going moneyless and dying, unable to repay loans, on the basis of support prices fixed by the state govts at half the cultivation costs, for sale of agricultural products. The govt. kills the poor farmers in a whirlpool of unending debts.

It is disheartening to see that no political party in the state has any concern for the basic economic activity of the farmers on the soil. They are bound by lust for power, money and selfish motives, not to protect lakhs of farmers. The govts formed by such parties have to be beaten up to realize the rights of all farmers. Hence, the storming sequence today, the leader stated.
Arecanut Farmers’ leader Srinivasa Achary also explained the difficulties faced by areca farmers due to low support prices and ban on areca products these days. He put forth some demands form the areca farmers such as waiver of loans of small-scale farmers under 4 acres. He demanded certain changes in existing railway trains to cater to passengers and farmers.

Rohitaksha Rai (KRRS), Dhanakeerthi Balipa (Green Army), Kumara Subramanya Shastri (State Committee member, KRRS) besides Ravi Kiran and Sridhar Shetty expressed their views before a huge rally of farmers.