CM Siddaramaiah sets sugarcane rate at Rs 3,300 tonne as protests grow

Bengaluru: With farmers’ protesting in the northern districts of Karnataka, demanding a fair price for their produce, the Karnataka government has decided to fix the price Rs 3,300 per tonne of sugarcane, yielding a recovery of 11.25 per cent, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday.

The CM also appealed to protesting sugarcane farmers to cooperate accepting the new price, and withdraw the agitation.

Sugarcane farmers’ protest at Gurlapur Cross in Mudalagi taluk of Belagavi district demanding a procurement price of Rs 3,500 per tonne of sugarcane entered ninth day on Friday. It has also spread across various parts of north Karnataka districts like Belagavi, Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Haveri among others.

With the protest intensifying, CM Siddaramaiah called for a meeting with farmer leaders and representatives of sugar factories on Friday.

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“The Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Superintendent of Police (SP) of Belagavi district had offered Rs 3,100 per tonne of sugarcane yielding a recovery of 10.25 per cent, and Rs 3,200 per tonne for recovery of 11.25 per cent,” Siddaramaiah said.

Speaking to reporters here, after the meeting, he said, “As the protest has continued despite this. In addition to this, today we have taken a decision to pay Rs 50 from factory owners side and Rs 50 from the government. That means to say Rs 100 in total will be paid in addition to what DC had offered to the farmers per metric tonne.”

When asked whether the farmers are satisfied, the CM said, “I hope so.”

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