Cane growers left in a lurch yet again

DC assures of holding a meeting soon

Like every year, this year too the tug-of-war between the sugarcane growers of the Mandya district and the government over the cane price has continued.

The cane growers of the district, who had hoped their produce would solve their problems, are now left in a lurch as the factories which have to pay their bills within 14 days of supplying the cane, are yet to make the payment.

The government too has failed to fix the final price for the cane. The cane growers had been demanding Rs 3,000 per tonne, while the government has directed to pay Rs 2,200 per tonne as directed by the Centre.

With the delay in payments, the cane growers are now forced to take loans to begin agricultural activities for the next year, which is an additional burden on them.

As the MySugar factory in Mandya is facing several problems, tonnes of canes from last year, has been left unused.

It can be recalled that the farmers had to stage a protest urging the shifting of cane to other factories for crushing and clearing of stock. They have alleged that the factory was indulging in delayed tactics in taking up crushing. Even after a month of supplying the cane, the farmers are yet to be paid. They are making daily trips to the factories hoping of getting their payments.

Price
S Krishna, President of MySugar Kabbu Oppigedarara Sangha said the factory had even failed to crush the cane, for which an agreement was made with the farmers. While the Sugar Minister had assured of Rs 2,500 per tonne, the farmers were paid only Rs 2,200, he said.

Meeting
Deputy Commissioner Ajay Nagabhushan said that a meeting would be convened between the farmer leaders and the management of the sugar factories, where discussions would be held about the delay in payment.