The State government’s decision to purchase jaggery from Karnataka through ‘sahukars’ (traders) based in Gujarat for distribution as ‘Chandranna Sankranti Kanuka’ (Pongal gift) has kicked up a controversy with local jaggery makers taking to the streets.
The government is distributing 500 gram of jaggery along with other items to each BPL card-holder during the festival through the AP State Civil Supplies Corporation. The gift pack also contains ghee, wheat powder, palm oil, red gram and yellow gram.
Agitated farmers from Anakapalle, Chodavaram, Kotapadu and other areas of Visakhapatnam marched to the AP Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited corporate office to stage a protest and demand agriculture status to jaggery to get easy finance and free power to crushing units.
‘Reduce power tariff’
The farmers staged a novel protest carrying head-loads of black and dark brown jaggery. They also spoke at the public hearing held by the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) on the annual revenue requirement of the eastern and southern discoms.
“We are paying power at ₹3.75 per unit. In view of the crisis situation, we want supply of power at a low tariff,” Karri Appa Rao, a farmer from Tummarajupeta village near Ankapalle, told The Hindu.
Anakapalle is known as the second largest jaggery market in the country. One lakh farmers depend on jaggery preparation across Visakhapatnam district out of which half are from Anakapalle.
Price crash
Mr. Rao said price in the local market crashed from ₹40 to ₹30 for good quality per kg after the government procured it at ₹49.40 per kg from Karnataka.
Cherugu Rythu Sangham district president A. Balakrishna and State president B. Tulasi Das alleged that the government was meting a raw deal to jaggery producers and felt that instead of procuring jaggery required for ‘Sankranti Kanuka’ from outside, the government should have bought it through Markfed or Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS).