Bommai urges CM Siddaramaiah to intervene, ensure sugarcane farmers get Rs 3,500 per tonne
Bengaluru (PTI): Senior BJP leader in Karnataka, Basavaraj Bommai, on Wednesday urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to immediately intervene and ensure that sugarcane farmers get a procurement price of Rs 3,500 per tonne, as demanded by them.
Suggesting that sugar factories should pay Rs 3,300 per tonne, while the state government must contribute Rs 200 per tonne to fulfil the farmers' demand, he said. Alleging that several ministers have "vested interests in the sugar business", Bommai urged the chief minister himself to intervene and resolve the issue.
Sugarcane growers in parts of north Karnataka have been protesting for the seventh consecutive day, demanding a hike in the procurement price.
The farmers' protest that has spread across various parts of north Karnataka districts like Belagavi, Bagalkote, Haveri and others, has drawn support from various farmer associations, organisations, opposition BJP, students, among others. The agitating farmers had reportedly blocked some key routes in the Belagavi region on Tuesday.
"I have already urged the chief minister to fix the sugarcane price at Rs 3,500 per tonne. However, the CM seems indifferent towards the farmers and is preoccupied with political calculations to retain his post, leaving him with no time to address farmers' problems," Bommai said in a statement.
Noting that the problems faced by sugarcane farmers recur every year, the former CM said, "After the central government fixes the FRP (Fair and Remunerative Price), sugar factories produce by-products like ethanol and electricity, which generate additional income. Therefore, it is possible for them to pay the price demanded by farmers."
The state government has the authority under law to fix the price of sugarcane and must issue an order determining the rate in line with the farmers' demand, he added.
Stating that the government can resolve the issue in two ways, the MP from Haveri said, the state earns about Rs 27,000 crore through sugar and other by-products. From this, the government should provide Rs 200 per tonne, while factory owners should pay Rs 3,300 per tonne. "This way, farmers can receive a total of Rs 3,500 per tonne."
Pointing out that sugar factories also generate electricity, Bommai said, "In Maharashtra, the factory owners have entered into PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) under which they get Rs 5.5 per unit. If similar agreements are made in Karnataka, instead of the current Rs 3 per unit, factories will earn Rs 5.5 per unit. This additional income can help them pay farmers a better rate."
Hence, the State Government must exercise its powers, hold discussions with factory owners, and fix the rate at Rs 3,500 per tonne as per farmers' "fair demand", he said, adding that if this is delayed, it will have a severe impact on the state's farmers, which would be extremely unfortunate. "The Government must act fast," he said.
Bommai said, the BJP has always stood by farmers and fought for their cause, and the fact that the State BJP President B Y Vijayendra has already participated in the protest is proof of this commitment.
"Along with this, other related issues must also be discussed. Crushing of sugarcane must begin immediately," he added.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
