Bengaluru: Upset over the government’s apathy towards addressing burning agrarian issues, thousands of farmers from across Karnataka, including a large number of sugarcane growers, staged a demonstration at Freedom Park in Bengaluru this morning as a prelude to their plans of laying siege to Vidhana Soudha in the afternoon.
The farmers are seeking fulfilment of their demands which chiefly included full farm loan waiver as promised by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy in the run up to the Assembly polls, clearance of pending arrears by sugar factories for the cane supplied, announcement of State-set Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) for sugarcane, re-starting of crushing by sugar factories, an exclusive package for rebuilding of flood-ravaged Kodagu district, compensation of Rs.25,000 per hectare for crop loss, introduction of a flexible agri-lending policy and farmer- friendly implementation of Fasal Bima Yojana, among others.
