SANGUEM: Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar on Tuesday said that any move by the government to close the Sanjivani Sugar Factory will not be accepted by the sugarcane cultivators.
“The government has literally failed in thinking of the future of the sugarcane cultivators in the State. What other alternative does the sugarcane cultivators in the State have in the event of the abrupt closure of the sugar factory,” questioned Gaonkar.
Speaking at a largely attended farmers meeting at Sanguem, Gaonkar assured the sugarcane cultivators of his support and even assured of taking part in any agitation led by the sugarcane cultivators in the event of any major decision by the government to close down the Sanjivani Sugar Factory.
He blamed the government for the present mess in the operation of the sugar factory. “Had if the government taken corrective measures at the right time, the present situation would have not occurred,” claimed Gaonkar.
“Government is spending crores of rupees on other development projects but does not have around six crore to fund the sugar factory for its revamp. Since the time the sugar factory started making huge losses, the government remained a mute spectators ultimately leading to its dead end.”
The farmers will not keep quiet for any decision taken by the government to shut down the sugar factory and any decision taken by the government to that effect will have serious consequences on the farming community,” informed Gaonkar.
“While government is thinking of transporting sugarcane produced in Goa to neighbouring Karnataka State, no modalities are worked out for the scheme as to how it would function. First the government should decide on the scheme and its modalities and put them before the sugarcane cultivators and then only decide on transporting sugarcane produce from Goa to Karnataka State,” claimed Gaonkar.
Former MLA Vassudev Meng Gaonkar blamed the government for the huge losses suffered by the sugar factory. The Government cannot simply close down the sugar factory without chalking out plans for the survival of sugarcane cultivators in the State. The workers who headed the sugar factory only thought about themselves and their well being while they run the factory and did not pay any heed to the problems faced by the sugarcane cultivators and this ultimately led to the present scenario in the running of the factory.
President of Farmers Association Rajendra Dessai claimed that despite several talks and meetings with the ministers and other government agencies, nothing has come to the rescue of the sugarcane cultivators in the State.
Dessai informed that most of the schemes devised by the government for the benefit of the farmers are on the verge of closure and the farmers are facing extreme hardship in running their farms and other agricultural operations.
Others who spoke at the meeting were Damu Ganvli, Chanda Gaonkar, Ayetin Mascarenhas, Dayanand Dessai, Nemu Madkaikar and Dashrat Gaonkar.
