Zilla Kabbu Belegarara Sangha (District Sugar Cane Growers Association) has urged the state government to prevail upon the two sugar factories in the district, run by the Renuka Sugars, to pay adequate compensation to cane growers for its failure to crush sugar cane for making farmers reel under huge losses.

Speaking to media persons on Wednesday, the Sangha President Kedarlingaiah Hiremath held the sugar factories solely responsible for the present sugar cane crisis as they have gone back on their words of crushing all the available cane in the district.

According to Hiremath, the sugar unit representatives at a series of meetings held by ministers and the chief minister had given an assurance that they would lift the entire cane in the district. However, the factories failed to keep their words leaving the growers in the lurch, he alleged.

He said he had spoken to the Sugar Commissioner Manjunath explaining the commitment of the sugar units and asked him to prevail upon the factories to provide compensation to growers.

The Sugar Commissioner has agreed to force the factories to pay compensation if the Sangha gave him necessary documents to prove the commitment of the factories to crush all available cane, he said.

“I will provide all the necessary documents to the Sugar Commissioner. He should prevail upon the managements to pay compensation. If the factories failed to pay compensation the government should file a civil suit against the factories’’ Hiremath demanded.

In Gulbarga district, Hiremath said,  3.5 lakh ton of cane has remained without being crushed and this has resulted in huge losses to cane growers who are undergoing untold miseries.

Welcoming the decision of the state government to pay a compensation of Rs 25,000 per hectare for uncrushed cane up to May 31, Hiremath said the conditions of Gulbarga district are totally different than those of other districts.

In Bijapur and Bagalkot districts, the sugar units need not pay any compensation as growers forced the factories to close for two months seeking higher prices. In Gulbarga, no one has forced closure of the factories although they were agitating for better prices and lifting of cane, he felt.

Demanded
Hiremath pointed out that in the neighbouring Bidar district the Naranja Sugars has already declared payment of Rs 10,000 compensation per hectare for its inability to crush all the cane.
The same should be followed in Gulbarga by the sugar units here, he demanded.