Karnataka - Bijapur   

Chief Minister liklely to visit agitating sugarcane farmers

Staff Correspondent

He is scheduled to arrive in Bijapur on April 26

BIJAPUR: The fast launched by sugarcane farmers here at the Deputy Commissioner's office entered the seventh day on Tuesday even as farmers staged a demonstration in Indi seeking relief from the surplus crop that is on the verge of withering.

Protesters led by taluk panchayat member Hanmanth Khandekar gathered at the taluk panchayat office before staging a protest outside the tahasildar's office. Mr. Khandekar said despite claims by the administration about harvesting of cane, there was not much improvement at the ground level. If the harvesting moved at the current pace, at least 12 months was required to clear the stock whereas the deadline given by the Government to sugar factories in the region was May 31. The Opposition Leader in the Zilla Panchayat Panchappa Kalburgi who is leading the fast, called on cane growers to gather in strength on April 26, when Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is scheduled to arrive here to attend a wedding.

The agitators have been urging the Chief Minister to hear their grievances before attending any private programme. Sources in the administration said Mr. Kumaraswamy had decided to visit the farmers but not at the present venue of agitation (on the premises of Deputy Commissioner's office). A pandal would be put up in front of DDPI office for the purpose. However, they were yet to receive the revised itinerary of Mr. Kumaraswamy.

Their main demands are: early harvesting of canes and a compensation Rs. 25,000 a hectare of cane that would remain uncrushed even after May 31.

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