Raju Shetti on indefinite fast from Wednesday
TNN | Jan 29, 2019, 09:55 IST
Farmers stage a sit-in agitation in front of the sugar commissionerate in Pune on MondayPUNE: Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) leader Raju Shetti has decided to launch an indefinite hunger strike from Wednesday to press the demand for seizure of sugar manufactured by factories and clearing of the delayed bills of farmers with interest.
The Hatkangale MP made the announcement after two rounds of discussions with sugar commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad here failed to resolve the issue of delayed and part payment by factories to cane farmers in the state.
Shetti has said that 180 sugar factories have total arrears of Rs5,300 crore to the farmers.
Shetti told TOI that discussions with the sugar commissioner were not fruitful. “The commissioner is saying that he will have to talk to ministers and secretaries before making any commitment. Why should we believe him? We will go ahead with our agenda.”
Addressing the farmers in front of the sugar commissioner’s office in the Wakdewadi area of Pune, SSS Maharashtra president Ravikat Tupkar said the farmers will support Shetti’s hunger strike by staging an indefinite sit-in agitation from Wednesday.
Hundreds of farmers from Maharashtra, particularly from western Maharashtra, participated in the agitation. Farmers took out a massive march from Alka talkies chowk in Deccan to the sugar commissionerate before staged a ‘dharna’.
Police have banned all vehicular movement from Agriculture College to Wakdewadi. The SSS has appealed to followers to gather in Pune for the agitation.
Addressing the farmers, Tupkar said the phenomenon of farmer suicides is not restricted to Vidarbha or Marathwada but is happening in western Maharashtra also. “Farmers are committing suicide as they are not in a position to make ends meet and factories and the government are insensitive towards them”.
Delayed and part payment by sugar factories to farmers has become a burning issue in western Maharashtra. Factories made a part payment to farmers on January 12, almost two months after the beginning of the crushing season, creating unrest among them. Incidents of violence like setting alight sugar factory offices took place in Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur districts. The sugar factories have expressed their inability to pay the FRP based price (Rs 2,900 per tonne) on the grounds that the manufacturing cost of sugar is Rs 34 per kg. The SSS has alleged that the factories and the government have joined hands against the farmers.
The government has issued notices to the factories about the part and delayed payment. Under the provisions of the Sugarcane Control Act, it is mandatory for factories to make the payment to the farmer within 124 days after his cane is taken for crushing.
The sugar commissioner’s office has sent such notices to all 36 private and cooperative sugar factories in Kolhapur and Sangli districts.
The Hatkangale MP made the announcement after two rounds of discussions with sugar commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad here failed to resolve the issue of delayed and part payment by factories to cane farmers in the state.
Shetti has said that 180 sugar factories have total arrears of Rs5,300 crore to the farmers.
Shetti told TOI that discussions with the sugar commissioner were not fruitful. “The commissioner is saying that he will have to talk to ministers and secretaries before making any commitment. Why should we believe him? We will go ahead with our agenda.”
Addressing the farmers in front of the sugar commissioner’s office in the Wakdewadi area of Pune, SSS Maharashtra president Ravikat Tupkar said the farmers will support Shetti’s hunger strike by staging an indefinite sit-in agitation from Wednesday.
Hundreds of farmers from Maharashtra, particularly from western Maharashtra, participated in the agitation. Farmers took out a massive march from Alka talkies chowk in Deccan to the sugar commissionerate before staged a ‘dharna’.
Police have banned all vehicular movement from Agriculture College to Wakdewadi. The SSS has appealed to followers to gather in Pune for the agitation.
Addressing the farmers, Tupkar said the phenomenon of farmer suicides is not restricted to Vidarbha or Marathwada but is happening in western Maharashtra also. “Farmers are committing suicide as they are not in a position to make ends meet and factories and the government are insensitive towards them”.
Delayed and part payment by sugar factories to farmers has become a burning issue in western Maharashtra. Factories made a part payment to farmers on January 12, almost two months after the beginning of the crushing season, creating unrest among them. Incidents of violence like setting alight sugar factory offices took place in Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur districts. The sugar factories have expressed their inability to pay the FRP based price (Rs 2,900 per tonne) on the grounds that the manufacturing cost of sugar is Rs 34 per kg. The SSS has alleged that the factories and the government have joined hands against the farmers.
The government has issued notices to the factories about the part and delayed payment. Under the provisions of the Sugarcane Control Act, it is mandatory for factories to make the payment to the farmer within 124 days after his cane is taken for crushing.
The sugar commissioner’s office has sent such notices to all 36 private and cooperative sugar factories in Kolhapur and Sangli districts.
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