Sugarcane growers of the district today launched a dharna in front of the residence of District In-charge Minister V Sreenivasa Prasad here protesting against the government's failure to get them a remunerative price for their crop.
The farmers, who began their protest under the banner of Karnataka State Sugarcane Growers' Association, charged the government, including the three ministers hailing from the district - Sreenivasa Prasad, also the revenue minister, public works minister H C Mahadevappa and co-operation minister H S Mahadeva Prasad - of failing to get them Rs 2,500 per tonne from the sugar factories, the remunerative price fixed by it, and thus ignore their interests.
Although the Bannari Amman Sugar factory at Bannur was not paying the remunerative price to sugarcane growers in that area, they said the ministers had failed to come to their rescue. The sugarcane cultivated by them gave a good yield of 110 kg sugar. Yet, they were not being paid the remunerative price. Even Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had failed to resolve the issue.
The factory management was paying them only Rs 2,400 per tonne and causing a loss to farmers who had supplied sugarcane though the government had stipuled the new price two months back.
Several representations to the ministers hailing from Mysore and Chamarajanagar and the respective district commissioners had yielded no results. Hence, they had no other option but to resort to dharna, the leaders, led by association president Kurubur Shanthakumar and general secretary Athahalli Devaraj said.
If their demand was not fulfilled, they said, they would intensify their stir by holding a dharna in front of the Chamarajanagar district in-charge minister and the chief minister.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah is visiting Mysore tomorrow to participate in day-long programmes. Meanwhile, Sreenivasa Prasad met the protesting farmers later in the day in order to resolve the issue.
