To address the plight of cane growers in the region, the Kalaburagi district administration will soon launch a mobile application to help farmers get all details related to cane harvesting and crushing, said Deputy Commissioner Yeshwant V. Gurukar.
Addressing presspersons here on Friday, Mr. Gurukar said that the district administration has found a permanent solution for the problem faced by sugar cane growers to sell their produce.
Through the app, farmers can raise requests for harvesting their produce along with details of the quantity and total crop area, and in turn the factory will float a calendar for harvesting cane. The app will be launched within the next three months, which will help cane growers by the next crushing season.
On a pilot basis, NSL Sugars at Bhusnoor village in Aland taluk has projected a calendar for crushing the cane. The factory will crush around 1,24,768 tonnes of the cane grown on 4,239 acres in 91 villages coming under Nimabarga , Aland, Kalaburagi, Chowdapur, Afzalpur, Karachagi, and Kadaganchi divisions by April 10.
Directions have been made to all the factory managements to clear the dues of farmers in stipulated period.
During 2021-22, NSL Sugars crushed 8,27,737 tonnes of cane purchased from 6,594 farmers. The factory management has cleared dues of ₹19,348 lakh (80.18%) against the total due of ₹24,128 lakh.
Similarly, Renuka Sugars in Havalaga of Afzalpur taluk has crushed 11,73,010 tonnes from 11, 250 farmers and cleared the payment of ₹30,442 lakh (87.56%) against the total dues of ₹34,765 lakh.
Ugar Sugars at Malli village in Yadrami taluk has crushed 4,36,550 tonnes and the factory has released payment of ₹8,920 lakh (65.73%) against the total dues of ₹13,573 lakh.
The district administration will also launch a helpline to answer the queries of cane growers. The farmer can register their complaints which will be monitored by the district administration.
To address the grievances related to pension, the district administration has decided to set up a toll-free number. All the complaints will be resolved within 72 hours, he added.