Kolhapur: Unrest among cane growers over delayed and part payment by sugar factories took a violent turn on Saturday with a group of farmers setting on fire offices of two sugar mills and forcibly closing down four others.

The two sugar mills whose offices were set alight by unidentified farmers are situated in Satara and Sangli districts while four offices that were ransacked and forcibly shut down are in Kolhapur. Police have intensified security at sugar mills across the three districts. The incidents happened soon after farmers realised that most of the private and cooperative sugar factories had only deposited 80% of the money they owed to them in their bank accounts.

According to the latest figures, 172 sugar factories owe farmers Rs 4,576 crore for the current crushing season. The government has told the factories that they would have to pay 15% interest on delayed payment.

The factories deposited the money at the rate of Rs 2,300

per tonne while the fair and remunerative price (FRP) is Rs 2,800 per tonne. Most of the factories in Maharashtra have not made payment to farmers for over three months now.

Thirty-seven factories in Sangli and Kolhapur districts have been served notices by the office of the sugar commissioner for violation of the Sugarcane Control Act.