Sugarcane farmers of Sarlahi call off protest

By Our Correspondent,Sarlahi, Dec. 23: Agitating sugarcane farmers of Sarlahi district suspended their protest on Thursday. A meeting of the Sugarcane Farmers’ Joint Struggle Committee on Thursday decided to suspend their district-centered protest and move to Kathmandu to exert pressure on the government.

The sugarcane farmers were staging the protest demanding the price of sugarcane be fixed at Rs. 750 per quintal this year. The farmers demanded that the subsidy amount of Rs.70 given by the government for the sugarcane sold a year ago should be paid as soon as possible.

Raj Kumar Upreti, president of Millgate Sugarcane Producers Committee, Sarlahi, said that they would stage a protest in Kathmandu after coordinating with representatives of sugarcane farmers from other districts.

He said that they decided to visit the concerned ministries and meet the parliamentarians so that their demands would be addressed. The government fixed the price of sugarcane at Rs. 635 per quintal with a government subsidy of Rs. 70 on Wednesday.

The sugarcane farmers of Sarlahi have not accepted the minimum price fixed by the government. The sugarcane farmers have demanded that the price of sugarcane should be fixed at Rs. 750 per quintal based on the increased price of sugar.

The Sugarcane Farmers Joint Struggle Committee issued a press statement on Thursday evening and demanded the assurance that the sugarcane farmers would get the declared subsidy amount after selling the sugarcane.

The government fixed the price of sugarcane but the farmers did not get the subsidy for the sugarcane they sold a year ago, prompting them to stage the protest.

With sugarcane farmers suspending their agitation, the country’s largest sugar mill, Indushankar Sugar Mills, Harion, will start to crush the sugarcane within a few days.

The Indushankar has already issued letters to the farmers urging them to sell sugarcane. Sugarcane plants started drying in the field because of the delay in the operation of the sugar mill.