Gonikoppal: Demanding fulfilment of their various demands, farmers under the banner of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) took out a rally from Kutta in Kodagu to the Deputy Commissioner’s office at Madikeri yesterday.

The farmers, who gathered at Kutta bus stand, formed a human chain and then proceeded in a vehicle rally to Madikeri. The rally was flagged off by Kutta’s coffee planter M.C. Subbaiah.

The demands include fair and remunerative price for crops including commercial crops, appropriate implementation of farm loan waiver, an end to import of pepper from Vietnam, MSP for paddy and compensation for crop loss, among others.

Progressive farmer P. Lala Poonacha, also a former Senate member of University of Agricultural Sciences, State awardee Serviceman S. Ganesh, Kutta VSSN President M. Subramani, Tithimathi farmer leader C. Cariappa, KRRS Kodagu District President K. Manu Somaiah and others who addressed the farmers, urged the Government to address farmer issues at the earliest and come to the aid of the farming community, which is in distress.

The rally which commenced from Kutta, passed through Hudikeri, Ponnampet, Gonikoppa, Virajpet and Murnad, before reaching the DC office at Madikeri. A memorandum containing the charter of demands was presented to the DC.

Farmer leaders Subash Subbaiah, Sujay Bopaiah, Changappa, Bhavi Kumar, Praveen, Sooraj, Bopanna,  Sobitha Bhimaiah, A. Somanna, Peter John, Subbaiah, K.B. Ganapathy, Manjunath and others took part.