SANGUEM: A couple of sugarcane farmers from Sanguem bitterly complain of not being paid their dues and accuse the transport contractor of usurping their dues, which allegation is stoutly refuted by the contractor.
As the government has closed down Sanjivani Sugar Factory for renovation, sugarcane cultivated in Goa was transported to Laila Sugar Factory at Kolhapur ostensibly at a pre-determined rate which was fixed by the Sanjivani Sugar Factory after assessing the standing crop of the farmers.
Sugarcane cultivation follows a three year cycle where the crop is only cultivated for two years letting new crop to emerge. However, in the third year, the crop is burnt and new cuttings are planted for next year.
As there are not many sugarcane harvesters in Goa, farmers call the harvesters from neighbouring states who come for a specified period and harvest whatever they can and return to their home town.
Due to this practice, very often some crop remains unharvested and is burnt to plant afresh and this burnt crop used to be sent to Sanjivani Sugar factory which used to accept it.
But Laila factory refused to accept such crop as there is minimal extraction of juice from it. In the year 2019-20, some farmers from Sanguem sent such burnt harvest to Laila Factory which apparently rejected it but the farmers are still awaiting their dues for the crop as assured by Sanjivani Sugar Factory which had promised to also bear the cost of transporting the cane to Kolhapur.
One such farmer is Kuiro Gaonkar who says he has not been paid for the stock sent by him to Kolhapur in 2019-20 while other farmers have been paid their dues and asserts that the Transport Contractor Francisco Mascarenhas collected his dues but did not give it to him.
Gaonkar laments that he suffered a loss of around Rs 12,000 in cultivating the cane that was supplied to Laila Sugar Factory.
However Francisco Mascarenhas stoutly refuted the allegations and says he did not receive any payment for Gaonkar’s crop as it was rejected by Laila Sugar Factory.
He said the factory in Kolhapur rejected all the cane that was burnt and sent to it on grounds that the extraction from them was minimal. He added that Laila Factory paid the dues for properly harvested cane supplied to them.
Mascarenhas also pointed out that some farmers have not claimed their dues from Sanjivani Sugar Factory and this matter has been referred to the government.
Mascarenhas also informed that the Sanjivani Sugar Factory has reverted back to the government payment of a couple of farmers as the same was not claimed within the framed time limit and for which he has no role to play as the payment was to be made by the Sanjivani Sugar Factory.
