Akhilesh Yadav takes on BSP, Cong for sugar mess in state

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday blamed both the previous Mayawati government of the state and the Centre for problems of the sugar  industry saying both governments have not tried to solve the problems of sugarcane farmers. 

Yadav, who inaugurated the Mohiuddinpur sugar mills here after its renovation and kicked-off the new cane crushing season in the state, alleged that while the BSP government sold the properties of the sugar mills at a throwaway price, the Centre on the other hand was doing nothing to ban the import of sugar to protect the farmers and sugar mills.

Though during the function, Yadav had to face the annoyance of the Rahstriya Lok Dal (RLD) activists who raised anti-government slogans for not increasing the price of the sugarcane. Later some of them were arrested by the police.

RLD MLA from Ghaziabad Sudesh Sharma was also arrested in  Modinagar today along with his supporters when they were going to Meerut to disrupt the CM’s programme.

The CM on the occasion assured that the Samajwadi Party government will protect the interest of the cane farmers as well as the sugar mills.

‘Both the cane farmers and the sugar industries are inter-linked and both should be promoted,’ he said while adding that the government was considering ways and means to benefit both of them.

Private sugar mills in UP are agitating over the price of cane and they have refused to accept the price of Rs 280 per quintal for normal variety and said that they are only ready to pay Rs 225 per quintal.

In a statement the Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association spokesman Deepak Guptara said that the mills have made it clear that they would not start operation at this price because in this price last year the mills have collectively suffered a loss of Rs 2,400 crore.

‘Therefore, the private mills appeal to State Government to rationalise the price of sugarcane vis-a-vis sugar price. In the last seven years the price of sugarcane has gone up by almost 30 per cent while the sugar price has increased by 7 per cent. There is no rational in Government’s price,’ Guptara said.

UP government had recently announced the cane price without any increase from the last year of Rs 275, Rs 280 and Rs 290 per quintal for three varieties. However political parties including RLD and BJP were demanding Rs 350 per quintal cane price.

On the other hand the cane farmers of Meerut and nearby places had announced that they will not give their canes to the mills of the state and instead they will sell it in Haryana where the rate is Rs 300 per quintal.