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By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 9:20:26 am

Centre pushes for early sugarcane crushing

Mills seek special subsidy Kolhapur: Despite an estimated 30-40 lakh tonnes of sugar being available in excess of domestic demand, the Centre is stepping up efforts to keep sugar prices under control. The Union Food Ministry has urged Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka to advance the 2026-27 sugarcane crushing season so that fresh sugar reaches the market before the existing stock is exhausted. Sugar mills, however, say an early start will come at a cost. They are seeking special...

Centre pushes for early sugarcane crushing

Mills seek special subsidy Kolhapur: Despite an estimated 30-40 lakh tonnes of sugar being available in excess of domestic demand, the Centre is stepping up efforts to keep sugar prices under control. The Union Food Ministry has urged Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka to advance the 2026-27 sugarcane crushing season so that fresh sugar reaches the market before the existing stock is exhausted. Sugar mills, however, say an early start will come at a cost. They are seeking special financial assistance to compensate for the likely fall in sugar recovery and the reduction in cane weight that could result from crushing in October. India produced around 280 lakh tonnes of sugar last season. The season began with stocks of nearly 50 lakh tonnes, while annual domestic consumption is estimated at around 280 lakh tonnes. With about 35 lakh tonnes expected to remain in stock by September 30, the Centre wants the new season’s production to start flowing into the market without waiting for the traditional crushing cycle. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka account for nearly 80 per cent of India’s sugar production. The Union Food Ministry has therefore written to the chief ministers of the three states, asking them to bring forward the start of the 2026-27 crushing season. The push comes against the backdrop of a sharp movement in sugar prices. Ex-mill prices had earlier climbed to around Rs 68 per kg, pushing retail prices close to Rs 80 per kg. Following a series of measures by the Centre, ex-mill prices have since declined to around Rs 41 per kg. Yet, the government is looking at further measures to bring prices down and ensure that stocks move into the market. One such measure has been the approval of imports of one million tonnes of raw sugar. Since initial applications covered only around eight lakh tonnes, the Centre has invited applications for the remaining quota. It has also reduced the permissible stockholding limit for traders from 400 tonnes to 200 tonnes. The next major point of discussion will be the meeting convened by Union Food and Public Distribution Secretary Sanjeev Chopra with the sugar industry in New Delhi on September 8. The secretaries of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka have also been invited. West Indian Sugar Mills Association (WISMA) president B. B. Thombre said the Centre was pushing for crushing to begin around the middle of October. Traditionally, most mills in Maharashtra begin operations around November 15, largely because sugarcane harvesting labour becomes available only after Diwali. The industry is, however, willing to explore an early start between October 20 and 25. But early crushing could have significant implications. According to Thombre, sugar recovery could fall by around 1.5 percentage points, while the weight of sugarcane supplied by farmers could decline by 10-15 per cent. The industry will therefore seek special assistance for cane crushed between October 15 and November 15. At the September 8 meeting, it plans to demand a subsidy of Rs 500 per tonne for sugar mills and Rs 300 per tonne directly for sugarcane farmers.

Pyramids, thumkas & women power

Mumbai: The traditional dahi-handi celebrations – marking the birth of infant Lord Krishna – was a pacey day for Mumbai, Thane and other cities, with soaring human pyramids, beating of drums, Bollywood beats, thundering cheers with politicians and film celebs participating in the festive spirit and goading more than 1,500 Govinda ‘pathaks’ (troupes) battling for honours plus hefty cash prizes.


From Thane to Ghatkopar, Andheri to Chembur, Borivali to Jogeshwari, Dadar to Mazgaon, hundreds of troupes and their daredevil Govindas pushed themselves to scale the ‘upper limit’, attempting to build spontaneous nine, ten or even eleven-tiered human pyramids with rumbling applause from the excited packed crowds, but marred somewhat with injuries.


The roads and side streets to the major venues turned into colourful carnivals, with the Govindas arriving in open tempos, buses or trucks, bands blaring with the sole aim to build the biggest pyramids and break records. Keeping them company on the stage were celebs and dance troupes which kept the audiences on their feet, dancing and making merry at the first public festival of the current festive season.


Star Power

Bollywood celebrities like Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Govinda, Chunky Pandey plus Marathi glamour personalities added ‘star power’ to the revelries while police and private security personnel maintained a tight vigil, with spirits hardly dampened by the intermittent rains that lashed many parts of the MMR today.


Among the patrons, organisers or sponsors were ruling Mahayuti state ministers like Pratap Sarnaik, Shivaji Patil Prakash Surve, Ram Kadam, opposition leaders/parties like Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Aditya Thackeray or Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, besides some politically-backed NGOs.


At BJP MLA Ram Kadam’s Ghatkopar celebration, dancer and social-media sensation Gautami Patil stole the show. The moment she thundered onto the stage with her foot-tapping six female dancers and launched her trademark energetic ‘thumkas’ (moves), the crowds erupted and Hindi, Marathi film or folk songs with thumping beats soon had thousands letting down their hair.


However, the competing Govind troupes maintained their focus for the eye-catching ‘dahi-handi’ hanging at least 50-60 feet high at different venues, and made quick mental calculations on how to form the pyramids and ‘bag’ the smashing trophy with big prize monies awaiting the tall conquerors.


As in the past few years, all-female troupes of Govindas also came out in force, hoping to edge out the all-male monopoly in the challenging festival. The all-women pathaks, several aiming for seven-layer formations, matched their male counterparts in stamina, balance and sheer nerve, and earned unabashed public admiration for their efforts.


The troupes and the participants reflected a unique composition of the urbanites – many collegians, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, architects, corporate executives, political activists, sportspersons or local artistes who practiced the pyramid formations many weeks at night time for the Big D-day today.

Stringent Security

The state government had stipulated stringent security and safety measures for the Govindas and provided Rs.10 lakh insurance cover for around 1.6-lakh registered troupes/organisations, while the BMC hospitals and emergency teams remained on high alert.

 

Despite this, there were at least 3 fatalities of Govindas and 120-plus injuries across the MMR but the festivities continued till the late evening with crowds cheering at the sky-high celebrations.


Top lures
Major colourful venues welcomed the dahi-handi revellers at Ghatkopar (BJP MLA Ram Kadam); Borivali (BJP’s Prakash Surve); Chembur (MNS’ Karna Dunbale).

In Thane (BJP’s Shivaji Patil with a top prize of Rs 71-lakhs) and (MNS’ Avinash Jadhav with prize money of Rs 25-Lakhs); BJP Thane City and Sharada Sankalp Pratisthan’s Rs 55-Lakh, Yuva Star Pratisthan’s Rs. 21-Lakhs for a world-record and Sai Jalaram Pratisthan’s Rs 21-Lakh award.

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