Sugarcane growers stage rasta roko in Kalaburagi seeking payment of dues
“Sugarcane growers in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, staged a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office, demanding payment of dues from sugar factories. KPRS president Sharanabasappa Mamshetty said KPR Sugars owes ₹17.82 crore, Renuka Sugars ₹11.20 crore, NSL Sugars and Ugar Sugars also owe dues. Growers demand Fair Remunerative Price (FRP) of ₹5,000/tonne at 8.5% recovery rate. Authorities assured payment by August 25. Protesters warned of continued agitation if demands aren’t met. 25,000 farmers affected, seeking payment for 11 lakh tonnes of sugarcane supplied.”
Members of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS) and sugarcane growers of Kalaburagi district staged a rasta roko outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Thursday and demanded payment of dues for sugarcane supplied to various sugar factories in the district.
KPRS district president Sharanabasappa Mamshetty said that a delegation of sugarcane growers met the Director and Commissioner of Sugarcane Development in Bengaluru on July 24 and sought intervention for the release of dues to sugarcane growers for their produce supplied to various sugar factories.
Even after 12 days of the meeting, there has been no response either from the district administration or the sugar factories, Mr. Mamshetty added. Mr. Mamshetty said that KPR Sugars has to pay ₹17.82 crore for crushing 11 lakh tonnes of sugarcane supplied by 25,000 farmers.
Similarly, Renuka Sugars has to pay ₹11.20 crore dues to 23,000 farmers. Mr. Mamshetty said that Renuka Sugars paid ₹2,550 per tonne against the fixed Fair Remunerative Price (FRP) of ₹3,282 per tonne. NSL Sugars in Aland taluk has paid ₹2,450 per tonne against the FRP of ₹3,018 per tonne and Ugar Sugars in Jewargi taluk has paid ₹2,500 per tonne against the fixed FRP of ₹3,150 per tonne.
Sugarcane growers demanded that the government fix FRP at ₹5,000 per tonne at recovery rate of 8.5 percent. The five-hour-long protest was withdrawn by evening after the district authorities assured the protestors that directions will be given to sugar factories to pay dues to farmers for sugarcane supplied to various factories and also address all their demands by August 25. The agitators said that they will wait till August 25 to see if the demands are met by the district authorities, asserting that this is not the end of the movement.
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