KARACHI, Jan 19: The Chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party, Benazir Bhutto has expressed grave concern over the plight of sugarcane growers of Sindh caused by the manipulation of its support price by vested interests.

The government has fixed the support price at Rs43 per mound but the growers are forced by sugar mills to sell their crop at the rate of Rs36 per maund.

Ms Bhutto said in a statement, issued by the party’s Media Cell at Bilawal House here on Sunday, that the price was too low to even support the production cost of sugarcane. As a result, she added, some of the farmers had refused to sell the crop and some others even set their crops afire in utter frustration.

She expressed her resentment over the indifferent attitude of the government towards the continuous protest by the growers against their economic slaughter. One of the dejected farmers had tried to commit self-immolation. He was rescued by a passerby.

The former PM warned that it would spell a disaster, not only for the farmers but for the sugarcane industry also, if farmers were forced to stop cultivating sugarcane, switch over to other crops or opt for some other occupation.

She indicated that such a situation would lead the industrialists to close down their sugar mills and lay off hundreds of their employees. It would culminate at the economic murder of several thousand people, she added.

Ms Bhutto said that it was tragic that while poor farmers were facing economic strangulation, the regime was busy in political manipulation.

She urged the regime to immediately redress the grievances of the farmers, especially sugar cane growers before the situation got out of hand.

She said that the PPP had always stood by and would continue to stand by the poor farmers in the future. The party, she added, would also ensure that the farmers got a fair deal.—PPI