The ongoing agitation in Mysuru and other centres by farmers seeking a higher Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane will shift from the district centres to Bengaluru from November 22, Tuesday.
This was announced by the Karnataka Sugarcane Cultivators Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar here on Friday. He said a 24×7 protest will be staged in front of the Chief Minister’s residence to press for their demands.
Mr. Shanthakumar lashed out at the State government for adopting delaying tactics in announcing an higher FRP and said that though the Minister for Sugar Shankar Patil Munenakoppa had said a few days ago that the farmers will receive ‘’good news’’ there has been deafening silence and no announcement has been made. ‘’The farmers are being taken for a ride and cajoled to give up their agitation but we will not relent’, he added.
Though sugarcane farmers are agitating in support of their demand since the last 4 months, the government was indifferent to the plight of the farmers and was adopting dilatory tactics, said Mr.Shanthakumar.
‘’Though the yield or sugar recovery in Punjab was lower than Karnataka, the farmers in that State were receiving a higher FR at the rate of ₹3,800 per tonne against ₹3,050 per ton in Karnataka. The FRP was ₹3,500 in Uttar Pradesh, ₹4,400 in Gujarat while in Tamil Nadu the farmers were not burdened with transportation charges’’, said Mr. Shanthakumar. Hence the association demands an FRP of at least ₹3,500 per tonne in Karrnataka, he added.