Kolhapur: Sugarcane farmers’ agitation for cane price has turned violent as they have started setting fire to the tractors carrying a cane to the mills for crushing and also punctured the tyres of it. The heat of the agitation is felt at Shirol and Hatkanangle talukas of Kolhapur district.
The head of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) and former MP Raju Shetti has been demanding higher Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) from the sugar mills.
SSS has ensured that the mills don’t operate before the convention. Sanghatana will organise its sugarcane convention on November 23 at Jaysingpur in Kolhapur district, where it is expected the Shetti may speak on sugarcane price.
The farmers stated that the stand of millers from Karnataka are responsible for the violence. The tractors that were carrying sugarcane to the sugar mills in Karnataka were targeted by the agitating farmers.
In the month of July, Central government kept FRP of sugarcane unchanged at Rs 275 per quintal for a basic recovery rate of 10 per cent as sugar mills in India claimed that they are finding it difficult to pay FRP of sugarcane as the average production cost of sugar is 35 to 36 rupees per kg as against the MSP of sugar 31 rupees per kg.
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