Chamrajanagara: Karnataka’s Congress-led government finds itself at the center of a growing controversy as the state reels under an acute urea shortage, triggering farmer protests and outrage across districts. Even as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s administration blames the Centre for fertilizer allocation delays, fresh revelations of illegal urea smuggling from Karnataka to Kerala have sparked a storm, exposing both administrative failure and suspected complicity.
In a shocking incident, officials intercepted a truck carrying 15 tonnes of urea illegally diverted from a Nanjangud warehouse being smuggled across the inter-state border into Kerala on August 5. The truck, containing 330 sacks of urea, was seized at the Moolehole check-post in Bandipur, Gundlupet taluk, by agricultural officers and police. According to officials, no authorization was granted for inter-state movement of the fertilizer, and a case has now been registered at the Nanjangud police station.
This comes just days after farmers in Raichur staged a sit-in protest, accusing the administration of allowing urea to be sold illegally in black markets (known locally as “kaala sante”). They claimed urea was being diverted from Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies and sold at inflated prices, well beyond the subsidized rate intended for local farmers. In Raichur alone, 79 tonnes of urea meant for distribution through a cooperative warehouse was found being sold in the open market.
Government apathy laid bare
Far from being isolated incidents, these cases point to a deeply rooted crisis in Karnataka’s fertilizer supply chain. Farmers across the state, from the sugarcane belts of Mandya to the maize-producing regions of North Karnataka, are in the midst of peak sowing season. Yet, urea stocks are either missing, mismanaged, or misappropriated.
While the government continues to parrot the excuse that the Centre hasn’t released sufficient urea, the black-market activity and illegal transport of fertilizer from Karnataka’s own godowns to neighboring states demolish that narrative. If urea is available in godowns, why is it not reaching farmer cooperative societies? Why is it being siphoned off to other states under the cover of night?
This is a betrayal of the farmers. The Siddaramaiah administration’s failure to monitor fertilizer distribution has directly hurt thousands of farmers who queue daily at Raitha Samparka Kendras (farmer contact centers) only to return empty-handed.
JDS, opposition slam Congress government
The Janata Dal (Secular) launched a scathing attack on the Congress government, calling it “anti-farmer” and accusing it of backstabbing the farming community. In a statement, the party said:
“This government, which blames the Centre daily for urea scarcity, is the same one smuggling urea to Kerala while its own farmers suffer. Diverting 15 tonnes of urea from Nanjangud to Kerala is nothing less than treachery.”
ರಾಜ್ಯದ ರೈತರಿಗೆ ರಸಗೊಬ್ಬರ ಕೊಡಲು ಹಿಂದೇಟು ಹಾಕುತ್ತಿರುವ @INCKarnataka ಸರ್ಕಾರ, ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಗೊಬ್ಬರ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿಲ್ಲ, ಕೊಟ್ಟಿಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಲೇ, ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರದಿಂದ ಬಂದಿರುವ ಯೂರಿಯಾವನ್ನು ರಾತ್ರೋರಾತ್ರಿ ಕೇರಳಕ್ಕೆ ಕಳ್ಳಸಾಗಣೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದೆ.
ರಾಜ್ಯಾದ್ಯಂತ ರೈತ ಸಂಪರ್ಕ ಕೇಂದ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ರೈತರು ದಿನಗಟ್ಟಲೇ ಕಾದರೂ ಗೊಬ್ಬರ… pic.twitter.com/eizzaTzGJQ
— Janata Dal Secular (@JanataDal_S) August 5, 2025
Several JDS leaders demanded a judicial probe into how state-controlled urea stock reached the hands of private agents and was moved illegally across state lines. “This is not mismanagement; this is organized loot at the cost of Karnataka’s farmers,” said a senior party leader.
Sowing season on the brink
Agricultural experts note that Karnataka is seeing an uptick in maize cultivation this season, which has spiked urea demand. Fertilizer shop owners confirm that this is the first time in recent years that such severe shortages have emerged during the sowing period. Some suspect internal sabotage or profiteering networks exploiting the demand-supply gap.
To add to farmers’ woes, state government officials have begun advising them to use Nano-DAP (a liquid fertilizer alternative) instead of urea, an impractical suggestion, given Nano-DAP’s limited availability and untested long-term impact on various soil types.
A fertilizer dealer in Mysuru said,“There is a clear mismatch between demand and supply. Farmers are desperate. This isn’t just poor planning, it’s deliberate neglect.”
CM’s silence deafening
What’s worse, CM Siddaramaiah has not yet made a direct public statement condemning the illegal transportation of urea. Nor has his government announced any punitive action against officials responsible for storage and distribution lapses. Farmers are demanding answers and accountability.
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