Mandya: Karnataka will continue to support farmers and address their concerns, Agriculture Minister N. Chaluvarayaswamy said on Friday, assuring protesting farmers that the state government would work to resolve their demands and seek the Centre’s intervention.
The district in-charge minister visited farmers protesting near Gananguru Toll Plaza on the Bengaluru–Mysuru highway over various demands, including an increase in sugarcane prices, and received a memorandum from them.
Chaluvarayaswamy said most of the demands fell under the Centre’s jurisdiction and called for political parties to unite in pressing for their fulfilment. He also stressed that Karnataka should receive equal priority in central government schemes and said the state was ready to contribute its share to initiatives benefiting farmers.
On the ₹100 sugarcane incentive, he said the state government was contributing ₹50, while sugar factories had obtained a court stay on payment of the remaining ₹50. The government was pursuing legal proceedings to have the stay vacated, he added.
The minister also said the state Cabinet had approved a milk price increase, which would come into effect after the Model Code of Conduct, currently in force due to elections, was lifted.
Noting that the Centre decides which crops qualify for the Minimum Support Price (MSP), he urged farmers and political parties to jointly press for their demands.
Chaluvarayaswamy assured the protesters that a meeting would be held with them on October 26 to discuss their concerns. Following his assurance, the farmers called off the protest.
MLAs Darshan Puttannaiah and Ramesh Bandisiddegowda, along with farmers’ organisation representatives and other farmers, were present.