Karnataka - Bidar   

Rasta roko in 18 places

Bidar: Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha members organised rasta roko in various places across Bidar district on Wednesday, demanding payment of arrears by sugar factories.

Half-hour rasta roko were organised in 18 places in the five taluks. The police arrested 646 protestors under Section 71 of the Karnataka Police Act and released them later. The arrested include KRRS State unit president Basavaraj Tambake, district unit president Vishwanath Patil Koutha, other leaders Shankarappa Patil Atiwal, Veerbhushan Nandagave and V.N. Naubade.

Mr. Tambake said that the number of suicides in the district this year had crossed 50 and that most of them were sugarcane farmers.

If the Government does not act even now, it means that the Government does not exist for the farmers, he said. He said that the Government was dancing to the tunes of industrialists and information technology and bio-technology companies and was neglecting farmers deliberately. It is because the farmers lack clout, he said.

He demanded that the Government direct the cooperative sugar factories to pay arrears to sugarcane supplying farmers. He urged the Government to come out with pro-sugar industry policies.

Mr. Nandagave said that the factories had earlier agreed to pay Rs. 1,100 for a tonne of sugarcane supplied, but were now paying only Rs. 800 or Rs. 600. This amounts to cheating farmers, he said.

He said that the actual remunerative price for sugarcane was Rs. 1,600 for a tonne and that the KRRS had been demanding that the factories pay this amount.

But not one factory had agreed to pay this price and the Government could not take any action against them, he said.

Mr. Atiwal said that the factories were facing a crisis as they had failed to innovate. They should produce power, bio-diesel and bio-fertilizer. They fail to change with the times but keep blaming the Government for their failures, he said.

Protests were held in Mannli, Kadwad, Naubad, Janwada, Gadagi, Shahapurgate, Humnabad, Hudgi, Hallikhed (B), Dubagundi, Talmadagi, Sastapur Bungalow, Bhalki, Halbarga, Kesargavalaga, Aurad (B), Koutha (B) and Goundgaon.

Sources in the Police Department said the protestors numbered around 60 at each places.

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