Belagavi: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar held a series of meetings with sugar factory owners and sugarcane growers in Belagavi on Monday in an effort to resolve the ongoing pricing dispute, even as differences among farmer groups led to chaotic scenes ahead of his meeting with growers.
The Chief Minister first met sugar factory owners and urged them to take farmers into confidence and work towards a settlement, even if it meant bearing an additional financial burden.
However, ahead of the scheduled meeting with growers in the evening, differences surfaced between two farmer groups over the price to be demanded for sugarcane.
When CM had left for Saundatti, differences emerged among farmer representatives ahead of the meeting, leading to heated exchanges between members of two groups. The situation briefly turned unruly, prompting police to intervene and restore order. The meeting proceeded after the situation was brought under control.
Later, addressing the growers, Shivakumar said the government was committed to finding a permanent solution but would not rush into a decision.
He said a Central government committee would visit Karnataka on October 29 and that further consultations were necessary before arriving at a settlement.
“We cannot take a decision without taking the Centre into confidence. I will not take a hasty decision in a single day,” he said.
Shivakumar also appealed to farmers to allow sugarcane crushing to begin, pointing out that operations had already started in Maharashtra.
He said he would raise the growers’ concerns before the Central committee and discuss the issue with Union ministers and the Maharashtra Chief Minister.
The day’s discussions continued late into the night, with Shivakumar holding a joint meeting of farmer leaders and sugar factory representatives at the Circuit House.
Ends.
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