The farmers of Sevanagala have once again stepped in front of the cameras not with harvests to celebrate, but with grievances to air.
In a press conference marked by frustration and accusation, sugarcane cultivators from the Sevanagala region accused Minister Handun and his ministry of gross negligence and deceptive promises. Their complaints, familiar to those following the saga, revolved around the continuous failure of the Sevanagala Sugar Company to meet its obligations to those who till the land.
According to the farmers, fertilizer, the very life-blood of their crops hasn’t been distributed in over six months. “What kind of harvest can you expect without nourishing the soil?” one farmer asked, voice shaking with emotion.
But it wasn’t just the missing fertilizer that stoked their anger. The group criticized the minister’s recent announcement that ethanol would be priced at Rs. 800. “Even Rs. 500 isn’t viable right now,” another farmer scoffed. “Where is this magic ethanol at 800 going to come from?”
Adding to their hardship, the farmers said that payments for their sugarcane harvests which used to be processed promptly are now being delayed. What once was a smooth, if humble, financial operation has now turned into an agonizing wait.
Their crops, too, are languishing. “Sugarcane that should be harvested in 11 months is now sitting in the fields for 15 months,” a representative said, noting that the sugar factory is currently operating at only partial capacity.
This isn’t the first time these issues have been raised. Weeks ago, the same farmers took to the microphones to voice their concerns. But rather than resolve the issues, ministry officials including the minister himself rejected the claims and, shockingly, turned their fire on the farmers themselves, accusing them of spreading falsehoods.
The farmers’ response? A renewed press conference. This time, sharper. More determined. Aimed squarely at calling out what they see as a pattern of neglect, misinformation, and shifting blame.
“The problem isn’t with us,” one farmer concluded. “It’s with a system that thinks we can be silenced. We won’t be.”
Whether their demands will finally be addressed remains uncertain. But one thing is clear: the farmers of Sevanagala are no longer waiting quietly in the fields.
