Delay in payment upsets cane farmers in Karnataka's Mandya

MYSURU:  Mysugar, a state-owned sugar factory, has come under fire for crushing cane at a slow pace and delaying payment to cane growers. The government’s decision to start crushing cane was a respite to farmers in Mandya who were hit hard by the continuous dry spell for the last four years.

The slow crushing of cane and other lapses in production have set the tone for ‘Mysugar politics’ in the region. The failure on the part of the factory management to make advance payment that would help farmers harvest the standing crop is forcing them to look up to other private factories.

Encashing on the situation and lapses in Mysugar, private sugar factories have accepted sugarcane from Mysugar area that covers 15 to 18 km falling in Mandya, Srirangapatna and Maddur taluks. However, Rajya Raitha Sangha and BJP leaders want the government to run the factory as many private factories fix cane prices based on the prices fixed at Mysugar.

Referring to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s claims that he has a special love for Mandya, they said now it’s time for the latter to bail out Mysugar factory from a financial mess. They wanted the government to run it to its fullest capacity as more than 2.7 lakh tonnes of sugarcane is grown in the area.