Sugarcane farmers stage protest at Nindra factory

Nearly 500 farmers from Nagari and Sathyavedu Assembly constituencies staged a protest in front of Netams Sugar Factory at Nindra in Chittoor district on Saturday, demanding the clearance of debts amounting to ₹37 crore that have been pending since the crushing year of 2019-20.

The area Sugarcane Growers Association president, Adinarayana Reddy, and general secretary Avula Srinivasa Yadav, who led the agitation, said that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Nagari MLA Gali Bhanuprakash should do justice to about 2,000 farmers who supplied sugarcane to the factory during that year. “Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had given a clear assurance during the 2024 elections that if elected to power, the government would reopen the sugar factory and clear the dues to the farmers. However, there has been no response from the them so far,” Mr. Srinivasa Yadav said.

The agitating farmers said that the factory was closed immediately after the 2019-20 crushing year, and their appeals to the management for pending dues went in vain. “If justice is not done to the farmers, the agitation would be intensified,” said A.P. Rythu Sangham coordinator Hemalatha.