Belgaum: Former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy threatened to launch a protest in front of the residence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah if sugar factories fail to pay Rs 2,650 per tonne of sugarcane to all cane growers by December 30. He warned the factories that they have to abide by the government order and pay the price fixed.
At a meeting of sugarcane growers in Mudhol, Kumaraswamy said that several sugar factories have failed to pay the price announced by the government, though the cane crushing season commenced a month ago. The factories are bound to pay the farmers within 15 days of receiving sugarcane, he said.
A sugarcane farmer from Raibag committed suicide in front of Suvarna Soudha in Belgaum when the winter session was on in the last week of November.
Although, the government fixed Rs 2,650 per tonne of sugarcane later, none of the factories were ready to pay the price. Several private factories moved the high court challenging the government's price, terming it unfair.
Kumaraswamy said that the factories were harassing the cane growers by not abiding by the government order.
At a folk programme organised in Jamkhandi later, Kumaraswamy targeted former minister Murugesh Nirani without taking his name.
He said, “An MLA who fought for the cause of farmers is now fighting for the sake of a sugar factory, which he owns.
“Leaders should fight for the rights of farmers and ensure that sugarcane growers come out of the crisis.”
He said that since the factories have refused to pay the price to sugarcane growers, the government should compensate cane growers by paying a certain amount for every acre of cane grown.
“The plight of farmers who grow sugarcane and grapes in north Karnataka region is terrible as most of them have failed to repay their loans because of crop loss.
“The farmers also have to bear the brunt of increasing prices of commodities over the last few months,” he said.
Agri-tech is not available in this agriculture-based country and farmers are forced to adopt their own techniques.
For the steady growth of agriculture, both the Central and state governments should work together to ensure that agri-technology reaches the farmers, he said.
On the Krishna water issue, Kumaraswamy said that the state’s share of Krishna river water (Krishna ‘A’ Scheme) is not being used effectively, even as Andhra Pradesh is making use of all its share of 818 tmcft.
The government is neglecting the issue of sharing of Krishna water by not taking appropriate measures.
The government did not invite opposition parties to discuss the Krishna ‘B’ Scheme after the tribunal gave its verdict on it recently.
Because of the government’s negligence, more than 13,000 acres of land have been deprived of irrigation facilities, he said.
Trust, of late, has lost its meaning. The only mistake of the 23-year-old software engineer, who was kidnapped and raped in Hyderabad, was that she trusted the cab drivers to take her to her hostel. There is no answer to why India is increasingly becoming a rape capital and why women in metro cities don't feel safe-- whether in cabs, buses, autos or malls. 
The techie, who had moved to Hyderabad recently, was so terrified to report the gang-rape that she filed a police complaint saying she had escaped the rape bid when she was returning from a mall around 8.30 pm on Oct 18. But the incident came to light after the police arrested the cab drivers. Read full story here The drivers drove her for nearly four hours in Hyderabad on several stretches, including the Outer Ring Road, and raped her at an isolated area near the Open Mind Birla School, Tellapur. They later dropped her near her hostel at around 2.30am. Read full story here In another shocking incident in Hyderabad in September, a 20-year-old polytechnic student was allegedly kidnapped and raped by the college canteen owner for almost 17 months in Hyderabad. Accused Satya Prakash Singh, 34, a native of Bihar, runs the canteen at TRR College of Technology at Meerpet, allegedly drugged and raped the victim in his flat. Read full story hereAfter the horrendous Delhi bus gang-rape on Dec 16, 2012, and the consequent death penalty to culprits, it was felt that the city would be safer for women. It is only far from it. Over 1,121 rape cases were registered in Delhi alone from Jan-Aug this year, the highest in the last 13 years.A 14-year-old girl was raped by a minor boy at knife-point at Gokalpuri in Delhi in October. The boy took her to an isolated place near the Wazirabad flyover and raped her. Based on the complaint, the juvenile was arrested.A 25-year-old woman was drugged and then raped by four persons in the Welcome area of North-East Delhi in May. The victim, who had separated from her husband and living alone, came across one Yashdev while looking for a job. He, on the pretext of introducing her to prospective employers, took advantage of her along with his friends.In Sept, the sexual abuse of a 9-year-old girl at Sholavaram near Chennai shocked the state. Four youths entered the house at 4am, took the girl who was sleeping. They raped the girl in a hut and fled. Police arrested two people Mohan and Ram in this connection. A 22-year-old engineering student in Chennai committed suicide at Chengam, 180km from Chennai, after her cousin E Ezhilarasan, also a student, posted photos of her sexual abuse on the internet. He along with his friends had raped her intimidating her with threats to circulate the clip. A 22-year-old engineering student in Chennai committed suicide at Chengam, 180km from Chennai, after her cousin E Ezhilarasan, also a student, posted photos of her sexual abuse on the internet. He along with his friends had raped her intimidating her with threats to circulate the clip. In September, a court in Bangalore sentenced six persons to life term for gang-raping a law student on October 13 last year on Bangalore University's Jnanabharathi campus. The girl and her friend were sitting in a car when they were attacked by the eight-member gang.There is a concern that Bangalore, the IT capital, is turning into rape capital. On Oct 19, three bar girls were allegedly gang-raped by a group of eight men. In Mumbai, the gang-rape of a 22-year-old photo-journalist when she was on an assignment shocked the nation in September. The culprits raped her after bashing up her male friend at an abandoned mill close to the railway tracks in the Mahalaxmi area. The same month, Santacruz police in Mumbai registered three rape cases in three days. That included the arrest of a 37-year-old man for allegedly raping his four-year-old neighbour. The four-year-old victim was allegedly raped by her neighbour when her mother stepped out of her house to buy milk.On September 23, a woman, who was asleep while travelling in an autorickshaw in Mumbai, was allegedly abducted and taken to Sanjay Gandhi National Park and sexually assaulted by a group of unidentified men.