The Gulbarga Zilla Raitha Horata Samithi on Friday charged that the private sugar factories had played havoc with the lives of the sugarcane farmers in the district, which had driven two farmers to suicide, and had brought nearly 5,000 farmer families on to the streets.
   Speaking to the media here on Friday, association President Kedarlingayya Hiremath charged that the Renuka Sugars, which was running sugar factories at Havalga in Afzalpur taluk, and at Bhusnur in Aland taluk, had stopped crushing sugar since Thursday, even as nearly 3.50 lakh metric tons of sugarcane had remained uncrushed, and was drying up in the fields.
   As the sugarcane in the fields was drying up, the loan burden of the farmers had increased. Unable to bear this burden, two farmers have already committed suicide, while nearly 10 others had attempted suicide. Around 5,000 farmer families had come on to the streets, he pointed out.
   Demanding both these factories to continue crushing of sugarcane, he said, a meeting was held with the Deputy Commissioner Pankajkumar Pandey, which was attended among others by Renuka Sugars Chairman S N Kaluthi, General Manager Mr Mugulkod, and farmers representatives including himself on Wednesday evening.
   The farmers pointed out to the deputy commissioner that the Renuka Sugars management had intervened and had facilitated the farmers to avail loans from the many banks to grow sugarcane. This had amounted to nearly Rs 20 crore. This loan amount should now be cleared by the factory management, as it had refused to crush the sugarcane, he said.
   However, refusing to start the factory, or to pay up the farmers loans, Mr Kaluthi had talked lightly about the farmers, and had stated that the factory was not responsible for the farmers woes. This had led to fist-fights between the farmers and Mr Kaluthi at the meeting. Consequently, Mr Kaluthi had filed a complaint with the Station Bazaar police on the farmers, while the farmers had filed a counter complaint on Mr Kaluthi, he added.
   Mr Hiremath stated that, even though the factories had stated that they would continue crushing till May end, they had closed down the factories on Thursday. They had also withdrawn the nearly 100 lorries and tractors, and around 200 bullock carts used for transporting the sugarcane from the fields to the factory, he said.
   Moreover, the factory management had earlier announced that it would crush the sugarcane brought by the farmers on their own initiative. But this had been stopped now. Hundreds of farmers, who had brought sugarcane to the factory at Havalga, had dumped the harvest near the factory gate when the factory refused to crush the sugarcane, he said.
   He also charged that the factory management was using intimidating tactics on the farmers, and so far had booked 23 cases against them on baseless charges. "The Havalga factory was also harbouring goonda elements to threaten the farmers," he added.
   He demanded the deputy commissioner to issue orders against the factory at Havalga, and make it crush the sugarcane.