Haveri: Police resorted to mild caning on Tuesday to disperse a group of farmers who were jostling and pushing each other at a seed distribution centre here.
About 8,000 farmers had queued up to buy "Kanaka", a high yeilding variety BT cotton seeds from the Agricultural Produce Marketing Cooperative (APMC) society here since last night.
When the distribution began, a near stampede situation was witnessed and police resorted to mild lathicharge to bring the situation under control, police said.
The firm which produces Kanaka variety seeds has supplied 18051 packets in Karnataka and Haveri district got 3181 packets, officials of the agriculture department said.
Other variety cotton seeds are available and there is no shortage of seeds, the officials maintained.
However, farmers have been making attempts to procure Kanaka variety seeds, the officials said.
Following the lathicharge incident in Haveri, the authorities suspended sale of similar seeds a Shiggoan and Savanur in the district to avoid any untoward incident as farmers had gathered in good number in these places also, officials said.
Top police officials including Superintendent of Police Chetan Singh Rathore visited the spot.
The BJP government came under sharp attack for the police firing in which a farmer was killed in Haveri on June 10, 2008, barely ten days after the saffron party assumed office.
The police fired at farmers who went berserk at a shop where chemical fertilizers were sold.
PTI
