The sugarcane farmers’ agitation that had brought all business and agricultural activities in southern and western Maharashtra to a standstill was called off on Monday after the sugar factory owners agreed to pay `2,600 per tonne to the farmers. According to MP Raju Shetti, who was also spearheading the agitation, his organisation would not remain quiet and would demand compensation for the loss of the farmers.
Speaking to The Asian Age, Mr Shetti said that the meeting with the factory owners where the government acted as the arbitrator was successful and the factory owners had agreed to pay farmers `2,500-`2,700 per tonne of sugarcane.
“We are happy that the agitation has borne fruit and the rights of the farmers have been safeguarded. Though the factory owners have not conceded to the `3,000 per tonne demand, we are satisfied with the increase for now,” said Mr Shetti.
When asked about the damage caused to public and private property by the agitating farmers, Mr Shetti said that there were incidents of violence, but only when the police provoked the farmers.
“The police has arrested many innocent farmers and we are in the process of securing their release. However, as the authorities are not relenting, we will approach the human rights commission and lodge a complaint against the authorities too,” said Mr Shetti.
Meanwhile, businesses in Sangli, Kolhapur, Satara and Karad crawled back to normalcy and opened on Monday after nearly five days of forced closure. “Though we have started our businesses, work will start in real earnest after two days as the transporters carrying the raw material will be arriving on Tuesday,” said Anant Shintre, a businessman from MIDC, Sangli.