Kalaburagi: The Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS) has publicly accused the Siddhasiri Sugar Factory in Chincholi taluk, Kalaburagi district, of deceiving farmers by allegedly tampering with the measurements of sugarcane weight, reports The Hindu.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, KPRS district president Sharanabasappa Mamshetty presented a specific case to support the claim. He reported that a sugarcane farmer from Muttaga village in Sedam taluk first weighed his harvested cane at a private electronic weighbridge, which registered the load at 34.25 kilograms. However, when the exact same load was weighed at the Siddhasiri factory, the measurement reportedly dropped to 33.63 kilograms, showing a significant difference of 620 grams.
Calling this incident “clear exploitation” of the farming community, Mr. Mamshetty issued several demands to the authorities. He insisted that the government must confiscate the factory’s weighing machine and ensure that the farmers are promptly compensated for the quantity that was fraudulently reduced. He also urged officials to take immediate action against the factory management responsible for the discrepancy.
Furthermore, Mr. Mamshetty called on the State government to establish a committee dedicated to ensuring complete honesty and openness in the cane buying process and preventing similar practices across all sugar factories in the region.
To press for these demands, Mr. Mamshetty announced that the KPRS, joined by sugarcane growers, will be staging two major demonstrations. The first protest is scheduled for December 15 at Bankur Cross in Shahabad, followed by a second demonstration outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Kalaburagi on December 16.
