Agitation begins in Maharashtra over sugarcane prices, meetings fail

According to a report by The Hindu, a series of meetings held between farmer leaders and sugar factories regarding sugarcane prices in Belagavi on Tuesday failed to yield any solution. The meeting convened at the Deputy Commissioner's office was delayed due to differences arising over which farmer groups should attend. Later, District-in-Charge Minister Satish Jarkiholi held a meeting with sugar factory officials and farmers at another location. According to sources, this Minister, who owns some sugar factories, told the protestors that the factories are ready to pay them a fair and remunerative price and commence crushing operations. He stated that the factories are also ready to give a written assurance to pay the additional amount if the central government revises the minimum selling price of sugar. However, the farmers did not agree with this and no consensus was reached. Later, in-charge Deputy Commissioner Rahul Shinde convened another meeting at the Zilla Panchayat hall which was attended by a large number of farmers and this meeting continued till late night.

Meanwhile, members of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana have started protests in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra. On Tuesday, they started a 'rasta roko' agitation at the Kini toll plaza on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway. Police have diverted vehicles to alternative routes near Kagal, close to the Karnataka-Maharashtra border. Former MP and founder of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, Raju Shetti, stated that this rasta roko will continue for an indefinite period. He told reporters that they are demanding ₹5,500 per tonne for sugarcane, an amount to be shared by the factories and the state government. He added that based on the recovery rate in various districts, factories are offering prices ranging from ₹3,250 to ₹3,700 per tonne. He further stated that crushing operations have started in Maharashtra from the last week of October, but they are not offering uniform prices. Our demand is that the price should be uniform across Maharashtra. I want to appeal to all farmers to unite. If factory owners from various parties of the ruling alliance and the opposition can unite to deny fair prices to farmers, why can't farmers unite to get higher prices?