Sugarcane growers from Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts laid siege to the office of the Deputy Commissioner here on Monday to press for the acceptance of their demands, which included declaration of sugarcane price for this season and payment of dues.
Later, they decided to suspend their agitation until June 30 following an assurance by Deputy Commissioner P.S. Vastrad.
They were led by president of the State sugarcane growers' association Kurubur Shantakumar.
The protesters tried to enter the premises of the Deputy Commissioner's office and refused to meet Additional Deputy Commissioner Zaheera Nasreen, insisting that they would speak to Mr. Vastrad himself.
Dues
When Mr. Vastrad arrived, they urged him to call representatives of sugar factories to the spot for clearing the dues of growers who had supplied sugarcane to the factories in 2010-11.
Mr. Shantakumar said there were three sugar factories in the two districts. Farmers had been paid an advance of Rs. 1,800 a tonne of sugarcane for 2010-11.
The balance of Rs. 700 a tonne was due to the growers, which the factory managements must pay immediately, they said. The release of the balance amount would help growers tide over financial problems.
The Deputy Commissioner must take steps to implement the State Advised Price (SAP) without delay and decide on the price of sugarcane from this year, Mr. Shantakumar said. The growers also wanted the black marketing of fertilizer to stop.
Officials of the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation responded positively to the growers' demand to speed up installation of transformers to help them utilise IP sets.
