Karnataka   

Official meets agitating sugarcane growers

Assurance: Deputy Commissioner B.G. Nandkumar with agitating sugarcane growers at Indi on Saturday.

INDI (BIJAPUR DISTRICT): Deputy Commissioner B.G. Nandkumar met the agitating sugarcane growers here on Saturday in a bid to put an end to their protest. However, the farmers declared that they would go ahead with their “jail bharo” and Indi bandh programme on Monday.

They have been staging a dharna on the premises of the tahsildar’s office here from January 17.

They are demanding that compensation of Rs. 10,000 for an acre of sugarcane that remained uncrushed in the last season be disbursed as announced by the Government seven months ago.

The agitators are also demanding that expenses incurred by farmers while transporting sugarcane to factories beyond a distance of 50 km be reimbursed and an incentive of Rs. 100 be given for every tonne of sugarcane crushed during the non-seasonal months of April and May.

According to a survey, sugarcane grown in an area of 45,000 acres remained uncrushed in the district. The total amount of compensation is due Rs. 45 crore. Of this, Indi taluk alone needs Rs. 25 crore.

Mr. Nandkumar said a sum of Rs. 5.8 crore had already been disbursed. It included Rs. 2.36 crore released for Indi taluk.

The Government released one more instalment of Rs. 2.5 crore on Saturday. Besides, a sum of Rs. 9 crore was expected to be released shortly. With regard to the remaining sum (around Rs. 28 crore) Mr. Nandakumar said he had spoken to the Commissioner for Sugar. He said he was also scheduled to meet the advisers to Governor Rameshwar Thakur on Monday. Farmers’ representatives were welcome to participate in the talks.

The Deputy Commissioner said that since the administration was making efforts to solve the issue the farmers should end the stir.

However, Leader of the Opposition in the zilla panchayat Panchappa Kalburgi, who has been leading the agitation, said that the farmers would not relent till the Government released the balance of Rs. 22.64 crore to Indi taluk. Mr. Nandkumar also met agitating farmers in Sindagi town along with Superintendent of Police Arun Chakravarthi. There too farmers refused to end the agitation.

Siddu Nyamgouda and S.R. Patil, MLCs, met the agitators in Indi and pledged their support. They said they would be meeting the Governor along with the former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh in Bangalore on Monday to discuss the issue.

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