Farmers’ protest demanding higher fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane turned violent on Thursday after farmers allegedly set fire to sugarcane-loaded trolleys parked at the caneyard of a sugar factory at Mudhol in Karnataka’s Bagalkot district.
According to sources, the incident took place in the evening. The farmers, who had held a rally at the town earlier in the day demanding an FRP of Rs 3,500 per tonne of sugarcane, turned irate over rumours that crushing had begun at the Godavari Biorefineries Limited sugar factory, even as the dispute over the crop’s price remained unresolved.
Videos of the incident showed more than 50 trolleys in the caneyard, of which around a third were torched. The factory is learnt to have dispatched its fire extinguishers immediately and succeeded in controlling the blaze before it spread. The police and fire and emergency personnel also rushed to the spot.
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A protest by sugarcane farmers centred at Belagavi, neighboring Bagalkot, seeking a higher FRP ended last Friday after the Government announced that it would provide an additional Rs 100 per tonne –Rs 50 from the Government and Rs 50 from factory owners–thereby increasing the purchase price of sugarcane from Rs 3,200 to Rs 3,300 per tonne. Farmer leaders in Belagavi announced their decision to call off their protest soon.
However, farmers from Bagalkot and Haveri districts continued their agitation demanding Rs 3,500 per tonne. Demonstrations continued to be held in parts of Bagalkot district.
Farmer leader Mutthappa Komara said that miscreants were responsible for the fire and that damaging property was not his organisation’s policy. He further said the incident was the result of the Government testing the patience of farmers and accused it of taking unilateral decisions.
The FRP was fixed in May at Rs 3,550 per tonne for sugarcane that has a sugar recovery rate of 10.25 per cent. For sugarcane with a recovery rate less than 9.5 per cent, the Centre has fixed an FRP of Rs 3,250 per tonne, which is inclusive of the harvesting and transportation cost. Since harvesting and transportation are handled by sugar factories, farmers get around Rs 500-600 less than the FRP per tonne.
Compensate farmers for loss: R Ashoka
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Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka criticised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah following the Mudhol incident, accusing him of leaving the farmers in a lurch. “The Government must abandon this negligent attitude and take the problems of sugarcane farmers seriously. The losses suffered by farmers due to today’s incident should be compensated appropriately by the Government. The chief minister himself must meet the farmers and find a solution to this issue,” he said.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah last week blamed the Centre for the crisis, stating that it was responsible for fixing the FRP. The recovery rate of sugarcane was also increased from 9.5 per cent in 2017-18 to 10.25 per cent this fiscal, he said. The chief minister also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking an appointment to resolve the crisis by ensuring that farmers get Rs 3,500 net per tonne excluding the harvesting and transportation costs.