Maharashtra Assembly polls: For most sugarcane cutters, voting means losing a day’s wages

Gardhe, who is simply a muggadam (middle-man) employed with Bhaurao Chavan SSK successful Nanded, admitted that this meant the nonaccomplishment of a day’s wage but felt it was their work to workout their right.

“There are astir 200 radical from our village. Almost fractional of them went for voting,” helium added.

The contented of voting rights for cane cutters had go a large bony of contention successful Maharashtra’s sweetener manufacture arsenic the sweetener commissionerate had not issued support for crushing till the past moment.

Officially, the sugarcane crushing play was to commencement connected November 15 but with the Election Commission of India (ECI) fixing the polls connected November 20, the question of voting became a occupation for cane cutters.

Unlike Uttar Pradesh, sugar mills successful Maharashtra put for the harvest and proscription of cane with the cane cutters chiefly coming from Beed, Nanded, Ahmednagar, Yavatmal, Amravati, and Nandurbar regions.

Of the 12.5 lakh cane cutters, astir 5 lakh are from Beed.

Located successful Kallam taluka of Dharashiv territory (erstwhile Osmanabad), Natural Sugars and Allied Industries (NSAI) arranged for the question of their cane cutters from Beed and adjacent areas.

Thus Ankush Jadhav, a muggadam from the area, said helium took his 20 labourers to ballot successful the village.

“While this does construe into a day’s wage loss, voting is important,” helium said.

However, Jeewan Rathod, president of the Maharashtra Sugarcane Cutters and Transporters Association, said that astir 60 per cent of the cane cutters person not been capable to instrumentality to their villages to vote.

“Those who are employed successful mills adjacent came back, but those who are successful faraway regions person not,” helium pointed out.