Officials urge sugarcane farmers to withdraw strike

Senior officials have urged farmers to withdraw their protest demanding higher prices for sugarcane.

Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Roshan and Superintendent of Police Bheemashankar S. Guled met sugarcane farmers who are on strike demanding a minimum price of ₹3,500 per tonne of sugarcane in Gurlapur in Belagavi district and urged them to drop the protest. They assured them to arrange talks between sugar factory managements and farmers.

Mr. Roshan said he understood their problems and sympathised with them. He assured them that he would put for their demands before factory managements. “I urge you to realise that I am on your side. I will try my best to protect your interests,’’ the Deputy Commissioner said.

Their demands include payment of at least ₹3,500 per tonne of sugarcane supplied apart from transport and cutting costs, scientific weighing of produce, swifter crushing and transparent deduction of sugar yield per tonne of raw materials.

Farmers told the officers that factories in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Haryana were already paying ₹3,500 per tonne.

Farmer leader Shashikant Padasalagi, complained that mainstream TV channels had ignored their protest.

Chunappa Pujari, another farmer leader said that successive governments had betrayed sugarcane farmers. He claimed the effective incremental increase in prices was only around ₹10 per tonne per year, while the cost of cultivation was increasing by over 20% per year.

Shivaputra Jakal, leader, said that all sugar factories were run by politicians or big industrial houses and that they had excessive influence over governments. He urged the Union government to nationalise all sugar factories in the country, as that would be in the interest of farmers.