Karnataka Sugarcane Growers Association will organise South India’s mega convention of farmers, Bruhat Kisan Maha Panchayat, in Bengaluru on December 23 demanding that the State government fulfill their various demands, including crop loan waiver.
State president of Sugarcane Growers Association Kuruburu Shanthakumar, addressing a press conference here on Monday, said that the objective of the convention is to create awareness among farmers and empower them by uniting them.
Farmers across the State are already under distress as 220 taluks are reeling under drought conditions and it has become difficult for them to repay loans. In such a situation, nationalized banks and co-operative societies should waive crop loans taken by farmers, he said.
Mr. Shanthakumar said that banks should not harass any farmer in the name of crop loan recovery nor make any attempt to embarrass borrower-farmers by beating drums in front of their house or issuing notice seeking loan repayment. The association will not tolerate any such harassment of agrarian families, he added.
He also demanded that the government release drought relief funds immediately and pay ₹25,000 per acre of affected agriculture crop to farmers. Mr. Shanthakumar urged the government to pay minimum support price (MSP) as advised by the M.S. Swaminathan Committee.
He demanded that the Union government revise the fair and remunerative price for sugarcane from ₹3,150 per tonne to ₹4,000 per tonne for 2023-24.
Mr. Shanthakumar appealed to pro-farmers organizations from neighboring States to participate in the mega event to show the strength of farmers and also to exert pressure on the Centre and State government to fulfill their demands.
