Haliyal (ENS): Lashing out at District Minister R V Deshpande, BJP leader Sunil Hegde said when the state is reeling under drought, what is the necessity of spending huge money on Karavali Utsav.

“The state is facing several problems, including paucity of seeds of all varieties. But, Deshpande is not bothered about such things. Instead of trying to solve the issues of farmers, he was busy organizing expensive events like Karavali Utsav,” he alleged.

Deshpande must take immediate steps to ensure implementation of the Kali River Lift Irrigation Project, for which Rs 200 crore has already been sanctioned by the government. As this pro-farmer project is pending since long time, the BJP’s Haliyal unit will plan an agitation soon, Hegde said.

The BJP will hold a farmers’ convention in Haliyal in the next month, probably after the Sankranti festival, which will be addressed by party state president B S Yeddyurappa. Ahead of the meet, the party has appointed Ganapati Karanjekar as the new district president of BJP Raitha Morcha.