Pune, Apr 25 (PTI) Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday expressed concern over the increased sugarcane production in Maharashtra’s Solapur district and said if the cultivation goes on like this, a day will come when there will be no option but to commit suicide.
He was speaking in Solapur city during the foundation stone-laying ceremony of national highway projects.
Gadkari said that he was happy to see that the water conservation work has taken place in the Solapur district, which was once a drought-prone area.
“Due to this work, wells are (water) charged, water availability has increased for farming and drinking. But there is more to do in this area,” the Road Transport & Highways Minister said.
He requested all the people’s representatives to construct lakes along the Surat- Chennai Highway to transform the water-deficient region into a water-rich one.
“If we make water available for farmers, their income will increase by two-and-a-half times, and if the water is given by drip, it will be even better,” he said.
Gadkari said the Solapur district was once known as a drought-prone district.
“But Babandada (Shinde), a local leader, told me that 22 lakh tonne sugarcane was crushed. If such crushing is happening in the district…mark my words…if the cultivation of sugarcane goes on like this, a time will come one day when there will be no option but to commit suicide,” Gadkari said on a lighter note.
He said that as there is drought in Brazil, there is a smile on your (sugar mill owners’) faces.
“But if the sugar production increases in Brazil, the rate here will come to Rs 22 per kg and sugarcane remuneration to farmers cannot be brought down. To avoid this situation, produce ethanol from sugar syrup,” Gadkari added. PTI SPK NSK NSK
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