A large number of sugarcane growers, on Monday staged angry protests and organised ‘rasta-roko’ agitation for a while at the busy Rani Channamma Circle in Belagavi to protest against the failure of the State Government to ensure full payment of sugarcane bill for the year 2013-14 and to fix price for the produce for the crushing season 2014-15.
Farmers, mainly from the sugarcane growing belts spread across ten taluks in the district converged here under the banner of Karnataka Rajya Raith Sangh (KRRS) and Haseeru Sene. After staging rasta roko, the growers marched to Deputy Commissioner’s office and staged ‘dharna’, where district president of KRRS Basavaraj Malavali addressed the gathering.
He said the sugarcane growers had been struggling for long for fair and remunerative price for their produce. The State Government reluctantly announced Rs. 2,500 per tonne and an incentive of Rs. 150 only after a debt-ridden grower committed suicide during a protest in front of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha where the winter session of the legislature was in progress in November-December in 2013. But, many sugar mills remained reluctant to honour the Government’s decision.
A large number of sugar mills had not paid price as per Government’s announcement and were yet to clear the dues of Rs. 400 per tonne for the year 2013-14. On the other hand, the State Government continued to be indifferent towards the growers and had not yet finalised the price for the sugarcane crushed during the season 2014-15, he said.
