Kashempur backs Bidar farmers’ sugarcane price protest
BIDAR: Former Minister and senior JD(S) leader Bandeppa Kashempur visited the indefinite farmers’ protest near Ambedkar Circle in Bidar on Saturday and extended his party’s support to their demands.
The protest, organised by the District Farmers’ Associations Coordination Committee, began on November 12 in front of the District In-charge Minister’s office. Farmers are demanding a price of ₹4,000 per tonne of sugarcane and additional financial support from the government.
Addressing the protesters, Kashempur said sugarcane was the main commercial crop in Bidar district and farmers deserved a fair price. He also extended support to the large-scale agitation planned for November 18 and 19.
He criticised the government over drought relief payments, claiming that farmers had received only ₹500 or ₹1,000 in some cases. He questioned the difference between the initially announced relief of ₹2,500 per hectare and the later announcement of ₹5,000 per family.
Opposes leasing out BSSK
Kashempur urged farmers not to demand that the Bidar Sahakari Sakkare Karkhane (BSSK) be leased to private operators. Instead, he wanted the government to continue running the factory. He recalled that the previous JD(S)-led government had provided a grant of ₹20 crore to revive the factory.
He also referred to the farm loan waivers implemented during his party’s tenure and criticised the present government for its response to farmers’ difficulties.
BJP leaders also extend support
Former Union Minister Bhagwanth Khuba and other BJP leaders also visited the protest site and expressed solidarity with the farmers.
JD(S) district president Ramesh Patil Solapur, BJP district president Somanath Patil, farmer leaders Mallikarjuna Swamy and Shivaraj Patil Ativala, along with several other party leaders and farmers’ representatives, attended the meeting.
The farmers reiterated their demand for fair sugarcane prices, financial assistance and government support for the farming community.
