Shivakumar to hold separate talks with cane growers and sugar mills to end price row

Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Tuesday that the state would hold separate meetings with sugarcane farmers and sugar factory owners to settle the growers’ price demands, and that he would also take up the issue with the Union government.

Shivakumar travelled from Bengaluru to Belagavi to meet the protesting farmers. Growers in north Karnataka had suspended their seven-day padayatra and protest on Monday, 19 October, after Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said a high-level committee would study their demands.

“We have to resolve the issue peacefully and cordially, as it concerns people’s livelihoods,” Shivakumar said. “If farmers grow sugarcane, factories can operate.” He added: “I do not want to burden anyone.”

No date has been set for the talks. Shivakumar said it would be fixed around the schedules of farmers, factory owners and elected representatives, keeping in mind the Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations. Regional ministers, department heads, the Union Minister for the region and local MPs and MLAs are to be invited. He has also proposed taking an all-party delegation to Delhi.

The Chief Minister said he had sought an appointment with Union ministers in Delhi on drought relief but had not yet received confirmation.

He also said voter lists for the local body elections were expected on 27 October, and that the panchayat and municipal polls could be completed within two to three days.