MLA, farmers protest Centre’s ‘failure to release drought relief’ in Karnataka

KALABURAGI Aland MLA B.R. Patil staged a dharna at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Kalaburagi city on November 11, accusing the Central Government of neglecting Karnataka’s farmers and failing to respond to the State’s repeated appeals for drought relief.

Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister writes to PM, HM, Agriculture Minister seeking urgent release of drought relief storyline 1 Mr Patil said the State was facing one of its worst droughts in recent history, with 226 taluks declared drought-hit following a severe deficit in southwest monsoon rainfall in 2026. Crop loss had been reported across 57.93 lakh hectares, including 53.92 lakh hectares of crops and 4.01 lakh hectares of horticultural crops, pushing lakhs of farming families into financial distress.

He said the government of Karnataka had sought ₹20,585.73 crore in assistance under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). Following the revision of relief norms by the Union Government, the State had revised its demand to ₹22,400.58 crore.