Members of Uttar Karnataka Negilayogi Raith Sangha staged a dharna in front of the deputy commissioner's office here on Monday urging the government to disburse crop insurance compensation, and initiate immediate measures to solve Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project. Making teaching staff working in agriculture universities to stay compulsorily for some months in rural areas to promote agriculture was another major demand of the protesters. Farmer leaders Shivanagouda Patil, Veerupaksha Hosur, Nagappa Mommigattai, Pundalik Jeerigawad, Rayappa Walikar, Iranna Baliger, Pundalik Mangoji, Mallikarjun Marigouda, and others led the protest. In a memorandum submitted to the government through the deputy commissioner, the agitators said, North Karnataka had been reeling under either drought or deluge for the last four years. Farmers who had been suffering crop loss continuously for this reason were taking extreme steps of committing suicide. Though the farmers were undergoing such a severe hardship, neither the State government nor the Central government bothered to address the farmers' problems. The farmers urged the government to disburse ` 7.42 crore crop insurance compensation amount already released by the agencies concerned. The arrears of sugarcane growers should be released by the factories, and price of sugarcane should be fixed at ` 3,000 per tonne from this year. The government should also fix a scientific price for cotton, paddy, soyabean, groundnut, tur and greengram, they demanded. They said, the farmers had been fighting for the implementation of the Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project since last four-five months. However, the Union and State governments had turned a blind eye towards the issue. The Centre, as well the State government, should take measures to implement the Kalasa-Banduri project at the earliest to help the farmers of the four districts. They said, the basic purpose of setting up of agriculture universities across the State would be served only when the teaching staff of these varsities regularly interact and give timely tips for improving the farm yield. This could be achieved only by making agriculture universities teachers and scientists spend four months in a year mandatorily in villages. The said, the government should take immediate measures to level all farm land across the state as it would help farmers to conserve rain water and get good yield. Source - sahilonline.org