Mysuru: Senior minister K Venkatesh on Monday asked the Mysuru district administration to ensure that the tobacco auction resumed quickly. Venkatesh, who represents the Periyapatna Assembly segment, where tobacco is the major commercial crop, said that procurement was halted for a week following a GST hike on cigarettes, after which prices were reduced.He held a meeting with Mysuru DC Lakshmikanth Reddy and asked him to crack the whip and restart procurement. He instructed the officials to restore earlier rates to prevent further losses to farmers.Mysuru MP Yaduveer Wadiyar, Hunsur MLA GD Harish Gowda, KR Nagar MLA D Ravishankar, and Hunsur former MLA H P Manjunath attended the meeting.The meeting witnessed intense reactions from farmers, who expressed deep frustration over the sudden fall in tobacco prices. Growers pointed out that production this season was lower than the govt-sanctioned quota, which under normal circumstances should have led to better prices. Instead, they are facing a sharp market decline. Farmers also highlighted that their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh are receiving significantly higher rates, placing Karnataka cultivators at a disadvantage.Manjunath accused the Tobacco Board of failing to safeguard farmers’ interests. Wadiyar stated that a delegation would approach the Union govt for a lasting solution. He added that he met the Union commerce secretary along with MPs from Andhra Pradesh to press for fair pricing.ZP CEO S. Yukesh Kumar and superintendent of police Mallikarjun Baladandi attended the meeting.
