Sugarcane farmers frustrated with the government’s failure to fulfil its promise to restart the Ethanol Plant at the Sanjivani Sugar Factor, have initiated a protest at Azad Maidan on Monday after protesting at the factory for four days. The agitated farmers urged the Chief Minister to provide clarity regarding the future of Sanjivani. “The Chief Minister has assured support to start the ethanol plant, but we don’t know if it will start or not. He should clearly state his stand on whether he will start the factory or not,” said Sugarcane Farmers’ Association president Rajendra Desai.
Requesting an end to the prolonged uncertainty over the fate of the ethanol plant, the farmers emphasised the need for clear information on whether the proposed ethanol plant will indeed materialize at Sanjivani.
“The Chief Minister should not leave us in suspense on whether the factory will start or not. We were compensated for 4 years and from next year onwards we will not be compensated. Since the govt. wouldn’t restart the factory, the question was what next? And based on the PPP model the government promised to start a plant but hasn’t given a green signal yet,” said a farmer.
The farmers said that their main demand is that the government start an ethanol plant and claimed that a contractor is ready to operate the plant at the Sanjivani factory. They alleged that the government is silent and not responding to their demand.