Raju Shetti stages sit-in protest at Sangli sugar mill run by NCP leader Jayant Patil’s family

On Friday, members of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana jumped onto the mill’s cane feed belt in Sangli district’s Walva to register their protest over payments to farmers.

Farmer leader and former MP Raju Shetti (Express Photo by Ashish Kale)

Members of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, led by farmer leader and former MP Raju Shetti, on Friday started a sit-in agitation outside the Rajarambapu Cooperative Sugar Mill in Walva taluka in Sangli district demanding payment for farmers for the sugarcane purchased from them last season.

The mill is managed by former minister and NCP leader Jayant Patil and his family. Patil’s son Prateek is the chairman of the mill.

Farmers have demanded that the mill pay an additional Rs 100 per tonne over the government declared Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for cane purchased from them.

On Friday morning, members of the Sanghatana jumped onto the mill’s cane feed belt to register their protest. Shetti himself arrived at the site and started a sit-in agitation along with his supporters.

A few weeks ago, mills in Kolhapur agreed to Shetti’s demand after which the Sanghatana allowed cane crushing operations to resume in the district.

As per the formula agreed between the farm union and mills, farmers have to be paid Rs 50-100 for each tonne of cane crushed last year. Mills in Sangli, however, have refused to pay the amount, triggering the agitation.

Parthasarathi Biswas

Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More

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