Cane growers' agitation crushed

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-family:="" times="" new="" roman="" class="author">DEVRAJ DASGUPTA AND RAVINDRA DAFTARDAR</span><br />PUNE/SANGLI: Caught in a vortex of indifferent factory managements and the state''s apathetic attitude, the sugarcane farmers of western Maharashtra find themselves in an unenviable situation as the Shetkari Sanghatna (SS) spearheads the fight for higher cane prices in its attempt to make inroads into the bastion of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar.<br />The agitation of cane growers for a higher price for their produce has already led to a brutal attack by the police to suppress the movement.The inhuman assault on farmers and their families in Mouze Digras in Sangli district on the midnight of November 11 by a large contingent of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) was allegedly engineered by the kingpins of the sugar lobby to nip the agitation in the bud.<br />However, the acrimony between the cane growers, factory managements and the state government has grown from bad to worse as nobody is ready to budge from their position. While the farmers continue to demand a price of Rs 840 for per metric tonne of sugarcane instead of Rs 560 fixed by the state, the factory owners are using all the tricks in the book to crush the agitation and restart production.<br />Laxman Wadle, president of the state unit of the SS, on Monday evening sounded the alarm bell for factory owners by threatening to continue with the agitation of ''zero cane supply'' for another full month if the farmers were not offered higher prices. Wadle queered the pitch in an emotionally charged atmosphere at Mouze Digras, the epicentre of the farmers'' uprising.<br />The factory managements, on their part, have unambiguously denied higher prices while warning to close down the units indefinitely. In fact, factories controlled by bigwigs belonging to the NCP and the Congress have issued ads in newspapers asking the cane growers to alienate themselves from the Sanghatna-sponsored agitation and restart cane supply.<br />S.R. Patil, founder-director of the Datta Sahakari S a k h a r Karkhana Ltd., Shirol, in Sangli district, said cane growers should see the political agenda of the SS, which he alleged was creating unrest. "In case the farmers don''t stop their agitation,we will be forced to keep factories closed," Patil said.<br />The state government, on its part, is busy pointing fingers at the Centre for the crisis situation in the state vis-à-vis sugar prices. The Sakhar Sangh, federation of sugar co-operative factories controlled by Sharad Pawar, has asked the Centre to buy the buffer stock, give export assistance and compensate for the PDS sugar not lifted by various state governments under the release mechanism.<br />State finance minister Jayant Patil has accused the Centre of precipitating the crisis by importing sugar from Pakistan continuously for three years since 1997-98, leading to surplus in the domestic market. Interestingly, senior Shiv Sena leader and Union heavy industries minister Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil last week made it clear that the issue should be resolved amicably by the state government, sugar lobby representatives and the farmers'' leaders.<br />Senior officials at the sugar commissionerate in Pune, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that corruption in sugar factories and the lack transparency in dealings has led farmers to vent their ire with the help of the SS. "Although the demand per se higher cane prices is unfeasible, the agitation was bound to take place as the discontent against unfair practices factories was becoming unbearable," said an official.<br />In terms of simple economics, higher prices cannot be offered to farmers the production cost of sugar has touched Rs 1,200 per quintal, while the sale price has dipped to a low of 1,030 per quintal.<br />"The state''s decision to fix the first instalment at Rs 560, followed by the second of Rs 100 per quintal, is fair enough as it meets the Centre''s Minimum Support Price (SMP) of Rs per quintal. Besides, the factories will be bearing the cane harvesting and transportation expenses ranging between Rs 110 to Rs 180," the official said.<br />The low international rate of Rs 950 per quintal does not augur well for their demands. </div> </div>