INDIAN SUGARCANE FARMERS LAY SEIGE TO DELHI

By P. Vijian

NEW DELHI, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- Demanding fair prices for the crop, thousands
of unhappy sugarcane farmers marched into the capital on a sour note this
morning.

Shouting slogans and carrying sugarcane, the farmers began their protest
against the central government's new sugarcane pricing which they claim is
unfair.

Amidst the traffic snarl, armed soldiers were deployed in the streets,
changing the city's morning winter mood.

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had announced the price
at 129.85 Indian rupees per quintal (RM9.62 or US$2.83 per 100kg) for the
2009-2001 crushing season but farmers are demanding 280 rupees (RM20.74 or
US$6.11) per quintal.

Opposition legislators' disrupted parliament's first sitting of the winter
season -- raising the farmers' plight and vowed to continue their agitation
until UPA rolled back the new price scheme.

"The government should give a decent price for the farmers. Their priorities
have been misplaced. It should tackle the pricing immediately," Brinda Karat,
CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) politburo member told Times Now, a
Delhi-based news channel.

Meanwhile, sugarcane growers, mostly from neighbouring states like Uttar
Pradesh, a major sugarcane grower, continued their peaceful protest by staging
a sit-out in the streets.
-- BERNAMA