Plight of sugarcane farmers raised in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: Highlighting the plight of sugarcane farmers, who have been forced to sell their crops in distress in absence of adequate prices for their produce, a JD-U member in Rajya Sabha today termed the government as "anti-farmer" and "pro-industry".

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, K C Tyagi said while the government is not bothered about the plight of lakhs of sugarcane growers, it was protecting the interest of sugar mill owners by granting them subsidies instead.

"Sugarcane farmers are not getting adequate prices of their produce. Sugarcane is being sold in distress at Rs 100 per quintal. I had sought time from the Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister but to no avail. A Group of Ministers (GoM) was formed but instead of helping 60 lakh farmers, it tried to help sugarcane mill owners," Tyagi said.

He said the GoM, whose Chairman is himself a sugar mill owner, provided a loan of Rs 7,200 crore to the owners.

"The mindset of this government is anti-farmer and anti-village. No one is bothered to take note of the plight of sugarcane growers. Five farmers have committed suicide. For two months sugarcane farmers are selling their crops in distress," he said.

Supporting the issue, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said, "I see the entire House is supporting this issue. I will request the Minister to apprise the government of what it was doing on the matter."