Delhi talks with Union ministers fail; Raju Shetti announces highway blockade in Maharashtra, Karnataka

A high-level meeting with Union ministers in Delhi to resolve the demands of sugarcane farmers ended without a result. The government assured that a committee would be formed within a month to settle the issue, but farmer leader Raju Shetti expressed strong displeasure over this.

Farmer organisations have since hardened their stand. They have warned of a chakka jam agitation on October 13, blocking major national highways in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Farmers will take to the road at several places, including Karad, Satara, Indapur and the Kognoli toll plaza, so traffic is likely to be affected in western Maharashtra and northern Karnataka.

The meeting was held at the National Agricultural Science Centre, Pusa, in New Delhi. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan were present. The Centre told the meeting that the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane farmers has been raised every year.

Shetti said that merely raising the FRP would not resolve the farmers' problems. According to him, costs of fertiliser, pesticides, medicines, labour, and cane harvesting and transport have risen sharply. He made it clear that, given this higher cost, the price paid to farmers must be reconsidered.

After three hours of talks, an assurance was given that a committee would be formed and a solution found within a month. But Shetti alleges that, instead of deciding quickly on the farmers' issues, time is again being killed, and that is why he walked out of the meeting.

The farmer organisations have put three main demands before the Centre. First, the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar should be raised to Rs 50 per kg. Second, the price of ethanol made from C-heavy molasses should be set at Rs 70 per litre. Third, a subsidy of Rs 500 per tonne should be given for the crushing season that will begin shortly.

Shetti also said at the meeting that the minimum price of sugar has not been raised for the past eight years, which is affecting the finances of sugar mills. He also raised the issue that the basis of calculating the FRP has been changed, so farmers are not actually getting the benefit they expected.

After the meeting ended without a result, the farmer organisations announced the agitation. Thousands of farmers will gather at the Kognoli toll plaza on the Kolhapur-Belgaum border, and at Karad, Satara and Indapur, to block the Pune-Bengaluru national highway. The highways in Parbhani and Nanded districts will also see protests.

The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and the Green Brigade have decided to block major roads in the Hubballi, Gadag and Hattarki areas. The agitation is said to begin at 11 am on Tuesday. A warning has also been issued that sugar leaving the mills will be stopped.

People travelling in Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Pune and northern Karnataka have therefore been urged to use alternative routes. Raju Shetti has also warned that the agitation will be intensified if the government does not take a firm decision on the demands.