Karnataka Pranta Raita Sangha has urged the Central and State governments to immediately declare Karnataka drought-hit.The two governments should announce comprehensive relief measures to safeguard farmers and agricultural labour affected by the failure of monsoon, KPRS State president U. Basavaraj said in Vijayapura on Friday.He told reporters that the State is facing severe drought-like conditions due to poor monsoon rainfall caused by the super El Nino effect but, the governments are delaying relief.“There are reports that rainfall scarcity is more than 60% in many parts of the State with most of the reservoirs having dried and sowing being taken up in less than 20% of the cultivable area. All these have left farmers in deep distress. Several farmers are unable to recover even the cost of cultivation, while farm labour are losing employment opportunities. Even farmers in irrigated areas are facing uncertainty,” he said.Mr. Basavaraj demanded that the State government start immediate drought relief works in rural areas to prevent farmer suicides, starvation deaths and growing indebtedness.“The Union government should support such measures. The State government should provide a compensation of at least ₹25,000 per acre for crop loss and waive all loans availed of by small, medium and marginal farmers. Loans of agricultural labour and other wage earners from banks, cooperative institutions and private lenders should also be waived,” he said.He called for immediate measures to address the shortage of fodder for cattle. He demanded that the Centre modernise the existing National Disaster Relief Policy. He urged the State government to enact a Kerala-model debt relief law to ensure that farmers are not pushed into debt due to natural calamities and crop failures.He appealed to the Central and State governments to expedite long-pending irrigation projects across the State.“In Vijayapura district, the State government should complete all pending major irrigation projects, increase the height of Almatti Dam, complete lift irrigation schemes, including Mulwad, Revana Siddeshwara and Gutti Basavanna,” he said.He criticised elected representatives for failing to raise their voice for farmers. He said that both the BJP and the Congress are neglecting irrigation projects.District secretary Bhimaray Pujari and district president Annaraya Ilageri were present. Published - July 10, 2026 08:15 pm IST