Mandya, Karnataka: The persistent and relentless struggle to save Mysugar, a sugar factory of Mandya from going into the hands of a private entity, by farmers and activists has finally yielded results as the government has withdrew the process of privatizing the factory.
Considered as a lifeline of people of Mandya, the lone government-owned factory of the State now appears to remain with the government.
This has happened after the assurance of Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai who announced that the government retained its ownership.
He also declared that the crushing operation of sugarcane will be started from next season.
After the reports of the government planning to privatize the factory, the farmers had been agitating for over one and a half months.
The state government had decided to lease the factory for a period of 40 years similar to the Pandavapura Sahakari Sakkare Karkhane (PSSK), which has been taken on lease by a company founded by Nirani.
Following which, Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai chaired the meeting with the leaders of farmers, activists, officials and elected representatives on October 18 in Bengaluru to discuss the revival plan.
During the high-level meeting, the CM announced the decision not to privatize the factory.
It may be noted that the State Cabinet had taken the decision to privatize the only State-owned factory. The decision rattled the farmers who began expressing their anguish over the decision and launched a protest.
Joined by several left organizations and progressive leaders, the farmers intensified the agitation to save the factory from falling into the hands of some private entity.=
The heat of the agitation was finally felt by the government which not only withdrew the decision of privatizing it but also announced to set up a committee to explore the possibility of reviving the factory.
“We are looking for an expert to prepare a detailed report on the revival of the factory. The expert committee would submit the report within three months. Based on the report, the government will take a final call on reviving the factory. The financial aid would be given for the repair of the machinery. Every effort will be made to resume crushing operations from next year”, said Bommai while talking to media persons.
He said that he has already directed the officials to provide the details of financial requirements and working capital for the revival of the factory.
The meeting was attended by Minister, Madhuswamy, Munenkoppa, S. T. Somshekhar, Narayanagouda and other elected representatives of Mandya.
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah too had opposed the government’s move and extended support to the protesting farmers.
Founded by the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysuru, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar in 1933, the Mysore Sugars Company was the backbone of sugarcane farmers in Mysuru and Mandya region. It has the capacity to crush 5,000 metric tonnes of sugarcane annually.
