The deadlock between the Centre and the state over the minimum support price for sugarcane triggered violence on Thursday,with agitating farmers blocking roads and resorting to stone-pelting and burning of buses in Kolhapur,Satara and Sangli. Farmers agitating under the banner of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana,led by Lok Sabha MP Raju Shetty,have started a 48-hour bandh in the states sugar belt. Sugar factories have not been able to start crushing cane this season due to what they called unreasonabl demand of the farmers. While the Centre has fixed the MSP at Rs 2,100 per quintal,factories have unilaterally agreed to procure cane at higher prices up to Rs 2,500 a quintal. The farmers,however,want the MSP to be increased to Rs 3,000 per quintal. In a meeting on Tuesday,Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan apprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the unrest among farmers given the governments inability to increase the remuneration for cane. Harshvardhan Patil,Maharashtra Minister for Cooperation and Markets,said: The sugar factories cannot consider the farmers demand as sugar prices in the open market have crashed resulting in losses. In 2012-13,sugar prices in the open market stood at Rs 3,300-Rs 3,400 per quintal at the beginning of the crushing season. The prices have now crashed to Rs 2,600-Rs 2,650 per quintal. What has further compounded the problems for Maharashtra is the surplus stock of 24 lakh metric tonnes of sugar. The total sugar production in the country last year was 250 lakh metric tonnes. Maharashtra Finance Minister Ajit Pawar said,The state will be guided by the Centre. He appealed to Shetty to withdraw the agitation and allow crushing of sugarcane. In Maharashtra,the factories are not going against the MSP. While ensuring higher remuneration for farmers,we have to also consider stability of sugar prices, he added. According to Pawar,prolonged agitation will affect farmers because cane will not bring any dividend unless completely crushed.
