Belagavi
It was stated by Kuruburu Shanthkumar, President of Karnataka Sugarcane Growers’ Association, that several sugar mills in the state owe cane bills totaling Rs 700 crore for the past eight months. He demanded that if the state government is truly concerned about the farmers, those factories should be seized, and criminal cases should be filed against their owners. Shanthkumar addressed media persons, expressing concern over the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) set by the central government for sugarcane, which has fallen below the cost of production due to a 30 percent decrease in yield caused by drought. He accused factories of deceiving farmers by reporting lower sugarcane yields.
Shanthkumar urged the central government to revise the compensation criteria of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to provide fair compensation for crop damage due to flood and drought. He also called for action against officials of the horticulture department accused of embezzling funds from the National Horticulture Mission Scheme and denying grants to farmers in Raibag taluk.
Shanthkumar demanded attention from the district minister and threatened statewide protests if justice is not served. Present at the event were farmer leaders Suresh Patil, Gurusiddappa Kotagi, Hattalli Devaraj, Parashuram Ettinagudd, Ramesh Hiremath, and Shasappa Navi.
