Maharashtra farmer leader Raju Shetti begins protest over sugarcane dues
Maharashtra’s sugarcane crushing season has begun on a shaky note after Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana founder and former MP Raju Shetti decided to go on an indefinite sit-in protest, demanding an extra payment of Rs 400 per tonne from mills for cane crushed last season. Shetti took the decision while addressing the annual Oos Parishad or cane conclave at Jaisinghpur in Kolhapur district on Tuesday.
“Last season, the sugar industry saw bumper gains with listed companies paying 50 per cent dividends to their shareholders. However, when it comes to farmers, they are not ready to pay,” Shetti told The Indian Express.
Shetti and his supporters have started a sit-in protest, which will last for the next eight days, following which the next stage of the agitation will be revealed.
The farmer leader’s sudden decision – he had recently suspended his agitation in view of the Maratha quota protests – has thrown the district administration and the sugar industry off guard.
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, state Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif expressed his inability to pay the amount demanded by Shetti. Mushrif, who had defected along with Ajit Pawar to join the Eknath Shinde-led government, runs the Sarsenapati Santaji Ghorpade Sugar mill – a private mill in the Kagal taluka of Kolhapur – has invited Shetti to sell the sugar produced by the mill in the present season and distribute the realisation as per their demands.
This season, Shetti has demanded a payment of Rs 400 per tonne over the government-declared Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for cane purchased from farmers last season. Mills, he had declared, will not be allowed to function without clearance of these dues. For the current 2023-24 season, Shetti has demanded the FRP as the first instalment payment. Following this, the final demand for payment would be made, he said.
Since the last few weeks, Shetti has raised the tempo in the cane belt with his padayatra in three districts. His supporters stopped the harvest and transport of cane in Sangli and Kolhapur districts and sporadic incidents of violence were reported in some places.
As of Wednesday, 42 mills in the state have started sugarcane crushing. The others have decided to adopt a wait-and-watch policy, rather than take the agitators head-on. For mills in Sangli and Kolhapur districts, a delayed start would mean more cane being poached by mills in Karnataka.
“Instead of sending sweets, our farmers will gift the chairmen of sugar mills bhakri and kharda. As our Diwali is not sweet, we will ensure we share our pain with the sugar millers also,” Shetti said.
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