Bengaluru: A Union government committee is expected to visit Karnataka on October 29, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar told sugarcane growers in Belagavi on Monday evening, saying he would present their demands before it.
Shivakumar said relief could not be provided until the minimum selling price of sugar was increased. He said officials and sugar mill owners would be consulted again before a decision was announced.
Joint pressure on the Centre
Discussions were under way with Maharashtra’s Chief Minister on jointly pressing the Union government for a lasting solution to sugarcane growers’ problems, he said.
“Your voice will become my voice. I am on your side,” Shivakumar told the growers, while asking them to understand the government’s financial position. He said a decision had to be reached by taking everyone into confidence rather than acting in haste.
Shivakumar said discussions also covered problems involving weighing and transporting sugarcane. He said the government was trying to secure a solution by persuading sugar factories and the Centre.
Earlier in the day, he had urged sugar mill owners to reach a settlement with growers even if it added to their burden.
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