Farmers’ agitation: Karnataka CM convenes meeting on Nov 7; to meet PM Modi
Bengaluru (PTI): As the farmers' agitation intensified in north Karnataka demanding Rs 3,500 per tonne for sugarcane, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said the Centre decides the Fair and Remunerative Price Fixation and not the state.
The CM has called for a meeting with farmer leaders on Friday and also said that he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss issues faced by the farmers.
He said the Centre is responsible for the Minimum Support Price regulation on sugar, which is Rs 31 per kg.
"The FRP fixation is done by the Centre and not us. Every year, it is done by the Centre. This year too, they did it on May 6," the CM told reporters here.
"The farmers are misled. Despite the Centre having more role in the FRP fixation, the opposition is playing politics. I appeal to farmers not to succumb to the opposition’s statements," he said.
The CM said he has convened a meeting on Friday from 11 am to 1 pm with all the sugar factory owners in Bengaluru, where he will discuss farmers agitation and their demand for more FRP. His next meeting from 1 pm will be with the farmer leaders from Haveri, belagavi, Bagalkote and Vijayapura.
Siddaramaiah said he would also seek an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the farmers’ agitation.
"I will write to PM Modi to give an opportunity for a meeting with him. If he gives an opportunity tomorrow then I will meet him in Delhi and explain to him about the farmers’ problems and demands," he said.
Stating that he has sympathies with the farmers, he appealed to them not to block highways as this would cause inconvenience to the people.
Siddaramaiah said the rate fixed this year is Rs 3,550 per tonne, including harvesting and transportation if the recovery is 10.25 per cent.
A 10.25 per cent recovery means 10.25 kg of sugar is produced from 100 kg of sugarcane.
If the recovery is more than 10.25 per cent, such as 0.1 per cent more recovery per quintal, then Rs 3.46 additional should be paid. The recovery goes on further, Siddaramaiah explained.
In the event of recovery less than 10.25 per cent, then Rs 3.46 can be reduced for every one per cent reduction. It can be done to the extent of 9.5 recovery, he said adding, if the recovery is 9.5 per cent or less, then the farmers are paid Rs 3,290.50 per tonne.
"The Centre has decided it and not the state government. The state government can only implement it and ensure that the farmers get their price," the CM explained.
He also said that for the entire nation, only 10 lakh metric tonne export is permitted whereas Karnataka alone produces 41 lakh tonne sugar.
Siddaramaiah said the union government decided on ethanol production as well.
"In Karnataka, 270 crore litre of ethanol is produced but the allotment for us was 47 crore litres. This is a clear example of the game the Centre is playing with the farmers of Karnataka," the chief minister alleged.
He said the state government has decided to set up physical weighing machines at 11 places and called for tenders for eight places.
Further, a committee has been formed for measurement, harvest and billing examination, Siddaramaiah said.
According to him, in 2024-25, 522 lakh metric tonne of sugar were crushed, whereas this year’s figures are yet to come.
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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".
