The sugar factories in Kolhapur and Sangli have agreed for Rs2,500 per tonne as first the instalment during the sugar cane crushing season which has started this month.

State finance minister Jayant Patil had held a meeting with the sugar factory representatives at Islampur on Sunday where Shetkari Sanghatana, the farmers’ organisation led by Raghunath Patil and the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana led by Ichalkaranaji MP Raju Shetty, were not invited. Patil informed that the sugar factories have agreed to Rs2,500 per tonne as the first instalment.

The minister for labour Hasan Mushreef, MLAs Mahadev Mahadik, Sanjay Patil were also present at the meeting.

The Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana has been pressing for Rs3,000 per tonne as the first instalment.

Shetty said as the factories have agreed for Rs2,500 the farmers should be patient and not resort to any agitation for now. Patil, on the other hand, said that the farmers’ organisations would announce its stance on this during the cane conference in Sangli on Wednesday.

While speaking to DNA, Sharad Joshi, Swatantra Bharat Party founder said that he would bring all the farmers’ organisations on one platform during sugarcane conference on Wednesday (November 21). Both Shetty and Patil would participate in the Sangli conference.

Demanding a CBI inquiry into last week’s Sangli police firing incident where a farmer had died, Joshi has alleged that the firing and the entire agitation was because of a proxy political war between Nationalist Congress Party and Congress.