Karnataka sugarcane farmers demand fair prices, Call for government action
Karnataka sugarcane farmers expressed their disappointment that the prices they received were lower than those in other states. All India Sugarcane Farmers Federation chief D. Ravindran, while speaking at the State Conference of the Sugarcane Growers, held at Kalaburagi on Sunday, September 29, 2024, condemned the current mechanism of pricing for being inappropriate.
“Karnataka's sugarcane growers are receiving a lower price despite producing higher-quality cane with better sugar recovery rates than their counterparts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala,” Ravindran said. “In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where the sugar recovery rate is less than 8.5%, farmers get ₹2,750 and ₹2,870 per tonne, respectively. However, in Karnataka, despite a sugar recovery rate of over 10%, farmers receive less. This is an injustice to Karnataka’s cane growers.”
The issue has sparked protests across the state, with farmers demanding the introduction of a State Advised Price (SAP) to ensure fair remuneration.
Ravindran emphasized the importance of unity among farmers in their fight for fair compensation, noting that sugarcane cultivation costs between ₹2,700 and ₹2,900 per tonne. With 74 sugar mills in Karnataka, 61 of which are privately owned, he accused these private mills of cheating farmers and offering unfair prices.
Ravindran further criticized the Union Government’s proposed amendment to the Sugarcane (Control) Order of 1966, which, he argued, would restrict states’ autonomy over the sale of sugar and its by-products and remove the 14-day payment rule for farmers after harvest. “This amendment is anti-farmer and should not be allowed,” he said.
Ravindran also mentioned the implementation of SAP, which protects farms, and the success of those laws in the other two states, Punjab and Haryana. He proposed that the sugarcane with a sugar recovery rate of more than 9.5% be fixed at ₹5,500 a tonne, and he urged the Karnataka government to implement similar regulations. Additionally, it introduced legislation that ensures growers will receive 50% of the profits from sugarcane byproducts.
T. Yeshwanth, the association's state secretary, agreed and added that the government is more focused on sugar mill owners than on farmers. He continued by saying that the government had virtually completely disregarded an order it had passed giving the go-ahead for all of these mills with ethanol production facilities to pay farmers ₹150 per tonne.
The conference was attended by a number of farmer leaders, activists, and union representatives, including M.B. Sajjan, Dalit activist Sudham Dhanni, and Sharanabasappa Mamshetty. All of these individuals expressed their solidarity and support for sugarcane farmers in their fight against the unfair compensation practices.
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NCB seizes over 39 kgs of Alprazolam in Telangana; three arrested
Hyderabad (PTI): A gang allegedly manufacturing and trafficking Alprazolam drug in bulk quantity illegally in Siddipet district of Telangana has been busted, NCB officials said on Sunday.
Three people, including a Chemist freelancer, have been arrested in this regard, they added.
As much as 39.470 kgs of Alprazolam worth around Rs 12 crore and Rs 85.36 lakhs in cash were seized on May 15, the Hyderabad Zonal Unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said in a release.
On the basis of specific information, NCB officials intercepted two four-wheelers and two persons when they were exchanging Alprazolam illegally without any valid license.
The search resulted in the recovery of 39.470 kgs of Alprazolam and Rs 85,36,200 in cash, found to be proceeds of Alprazolam sales, it said.
On the basis of a disclosure made by one of the accused about the supplier of the Alprazolam, NCB officials apprehended another person from Hyderabad.
On interrogation, it was revealed that the person who supplied the drug had studied MSc Chemistry. He is working as a chemist freelancer, and he disclosed that he manufactured the seized Alprazolam clandestinely in his laboratory at Prashantnagar here, the NCB said.
All three persons "confessed to their involvement in manufacturing and trafficking of Alprazolam illegally" and were arrested under the relevant sections of the NDPS Act 1985.
Preliminary investigation suggested that they transacted around 150 kgs of Alprazolam over the last five years.
All three accused were produced before the magistrate and sent to judicial custody. Further investigation is ongoing, the release added.
