A large number of sugarcane growers on Monday organised a rasta roko at the busy Rani Channamma Circle in the city, protesting against the State government’s failure to ensure full payment of sugarcane bills for 2013-14 and to fix a price for the produce for the crushing season of 2014-15.
Farmers from sugarcane-growing belts across the district converged here under the banner of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and the Haseeru Sene. They staged a dharna outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office, where district president of KRRS Basavaraj Malavali addressed the gathering.
He said the sugarcane growers had been struggling for long for a fair and remunerative price for their produce. The State government had announced a support price of Rs. 2,500 per tonne of sugarcane and an incentive of Rs. 150 only after a debt-ridden grower committed suicide during a protest in front of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha during the winter session of the Legislature in November 2013. Many sugar mills remained reluctant to honour the government’s decision.
Several mills were yet to clear the dues of Rs. 400 per tonne of sugarcane for 2013-14.
