PONDA: Sanjivani farmers on Thursday held a meeting and decided to launch an agitation on January 7 against government for the slow pace of harvesting of sugarcane which they are asked to send to a Karnataka based sugar factory for crushing.
The farmers will launch the agitation demanding written assurance that the government would take responsibility and pay for all their sugarcane harvested by them.
According to farmers, this year, the government has cancelled the crushing season at Sanjivani factory on account of huge maintenance cost to put the factory into operation. However, it has taken responsibility of their crop and even to provide them Farmers gang for harvesting their sugarcane production. However, it has been one month now and when crushing season may likely to end soon, only 7,000 tonnes of sugarcane harvested and sent to Karnataka factory while still around 25,000 tonnes of sugarcane is yet to be harvested.
The farmers are worried that the 34 teams of workers brought from neighbouring States for harvesting have started returning to their native place. Worried that there will be no workers for harvesting their crop, the farmers have decided to launch an agitation.
The farmers have warned the government not to send their sugarcane to Karnataka next year. They demand that Sanjivani factory should be made operational next year. They also said that they were not paid the
bills for the sugarcane sent to Karnataka for past fifteen days, nor there is hike in purchase price of sugarcane.
