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Maha sugarcane farmers call off protest after mills agree to revised offer
The mills agreed to a revised price of up to ₹4,200 per tonne, which was accepted by the farmers’ organisation.
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PUNE: The Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, led by former MP Raju Shetti, late on Friday called off its 62-hour road blockade at the Kini toll plaza on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway (NH-48) after reaching an agreement with sugar mill owners over sugarcane prices.
The mills agreed to a revised price of up to ₹4,200 per tonne, which was accepted by the farmers’ organisation.
The decision followed a meeting between representatives of sugar mills and the farmers’ organisation at the Kolhapur district collector’s office. After the meeting, late at night, Shetti reached the protest site and announced the suspension of the agitation.
Shetti said, “Initially, the mills had offered ₹3,800 plus ₹200 per tonne. However, on Thursday, we agreed to scale down our demand to ₹4,200. After internal discussions, the mills announced that they would pay ₹3,900 immediately, ₹100 by the end of the crushing season and another ₹200 before the start of the next season. This price has been decided by considering the sugar rate at ₹4,500 per quintal. If sugar prices rise above this level, the payment will be calculated in a 70:30 ratio, with 70% of the additional amount going to farmers and 30% retained by the mills.”
Shetti said the agitation had been temporarily called off. It was also decided to implement the ‘Kolhapur Pattern’ in Sangli and Satara districts. He said the respective district collectors and guardian ministers would have to ensure its strict implementation, failing which the organisation would launch fresh protests in these districts.
The blockade, which severely affected traffic on the busy highway, was launched on November 3 over the demand for better prices for sugarcane supplied during the ongoing crushing season.
Ranjan Kumar Sharma, special inspector-general of police, Kolhapur Range, said, “The agitation began on November 3 at around 11 am and ended on November 6 at 1 am.”
