Kolhapur: Several sugar cane farmers from Solapur and Dharashiv districts, who claim not to have been paid by a sugar factory, attempted a ‘jalsamadhi’ in Sambhaji Maharaj Lake in Solapur on Wednesday morning. Hundreds of farmers gathered at the lake and expressed anger that their one-week-long hunger strike went unnoticed by the authorities.
Farmers Allege Unpaid Dues
The farmers alleged that Gokul Sugar Factory in Dhotri owes Rs130 crore of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) dues for the last two crushing seasons. “For one week, we were on hunger strike. No authority paid us a visit, no one was ready to help us get our money back. We are not able to purchase essentials as we don’t have money left. Therefore, we decided to take our own life by drowning in the lake,” said a farmer.
Authorities Intervene
Authorities, including the tehsildar and senior police officials, went inside the lake and reassured the farmers. District collector S Karthikeyan said that he has already given orders to recover the dues from the factory. The factory has been served notice, however now the recovery process will be speeded up, said the local authorities.
Statewide Issue
Sugar commissioner Sanjay Kolte has recently declared that the sugar mills across the state still owe Rs677 crore belonging to the farmers. For the last sugarcane crushing season, nearly Rs40,000 crore of FRP has been paid to the farmers across the state.
The incident highlights the ongoing distress among sugar cane farmers in Maharashtra, who often face delayed payments from sugar factories. The farmers hope that the intervention by district authorities will expedite the release of their pending dues.
