Kathmandu, December 17 : The agitating sugarcane farmers in the capital have sent a letter to the government stating that they will continue the protests until all the arrears are paid.

Responding to a letter sent by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies on November 13, the sugarcane farmers said that they would continue their protest until the payment is assured.

They have complained that the government’s earlier commitment to pay the arrears from the sugar industry has not been fulfilled. The agitating farmers have put forward two conditions to the government for payment.

According to the previous loan agreement, the farmers have not got the payment for sugarcane and they will return home immediately, only if the arrears are paid. Replying to a government letter, Ram Swarth Roy, chairman of the Sugarcane Farmer’s Struggle Committee, Sarlahi, said that their peaceful protest would continue until the industrialists pay the dues to the farmers.

“The aggrieved farmers will remain on the streets in a peaceful agitation till the date when the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies pay our arrears”, they said in a letter to the government. Roy also suggested the government can pay arrears to the farmers from the state treasury and recover the entire amount from the industrialists along with interest.

Chairman of the struggle committee, Roy urged to implement one of the two options given by the agitating farmers. He clarified that there is no point in holding talks without any basis, adding that the sugarcane farmers are in favor of result-oriented talks.

A five-point agreement was reached between the Sugarcane Farmers Struggle Committee, Sarahi and the Ministry of Industry on January 03, 2020 regarding the payment of farmers’ arrears. The government had agreed to pay the entire amount to the sugar industry farmers by January 21, 2020. Even after more than ten months of the agreement, the farmers have not received their dues.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry has said that it is eager to address the issues raised by the sugarcane farmers but the farmers are not ready for the discussion. Joint Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Narayan Regmi said that the sugarcane farmers have been repeatedly called for discussions to solve the problem. “We have called them (sugarcane farmers) for discussion”, he said. “But the farmers have not come for discussion.”  RSS