Raju Shetti speaks at cane price meeting held in Kolhapur on Friday
Most mills in the Kolhapur district remained shut due to intense agitations by farmers.
Abitkar announced that he would request financial proposals from the millers to outline what they are prepared to pay, after which further negotiations will attempt to find a “golden mean” to end the stalemate. However, we remain firm on our demand and will not allow sugar cane harvesting or transportation to the mills until a decision is reached,” Shetti said. “We expect the guardian minister to find a solution within a couple of days.
The meeting, convened by Kolhapur guardian minister Prakash Abitkar, brought together farmers’ representatives and sugar mill owners to air their concerns. Former member of parliament (MP) Raju Shetti, representing the farmers, demanded that growers receive a cane price above the fair and remunerative price (FRP) fixed by the Centre, citing high market prices for sugar. Conversely, sugar millers urged the farmer outfits to allow mills to operate, arguing that keeping the factories idle hurts drought-affected cane cutters who have migrated long distances and are currently left without an income.
The panel is expected to submit its report before Diwali, with the Centre likely to announce its decision by Nov 20.”
“The experts are currently on a two-day visit to Karnataka and will visit Maharashtra on Nov 4,” Shetti said. The recent wave of protests prompted the Centre to intervene by setting up a committee of experts to review demands for raising the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar to Rs50 per kg and the ethanol procurement price to Rs70 per litre. “This committee was set up only after farmers took to the streets for demands that the sugar millers themselves should have raised.