Mangalore: A large number of farmers from several districts of the state held a demonstration in front of Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers (MCF), urging the union government to release subsidy to ensure continuity of the industry.
It was part of several protests staged in the past to halt the closure of MCF. Earlier, the employees of MCF protested after union government stopped providing subsidy to naphtha based industries.
Addressing the gathering on Tuesday, Shivananda, representing the farmer’s union spoke about the popularity of ‘Mangala’ brand among the farmers. He said “We are accustomed to using this particular urea for years together. Most of the farmers prefer Mangala urea. It’s a quality fertilizer. Hence, the government must continue to provide subsidy, at least in the interest of the farmers, he said.
K.N Suryanarayana, President of MCF Mangala Workers’ Union said “We staged several protests in the past, but the government is not listening to our plea. We have submitted a letter to the chief minister and to Ananth Kumar. Since, no one is assuring anything on this, our future has turned bleak. The production of urea is stopped since 21 days. If it continues, over 2000 employees will be deprived of proper livelihood, he added.
He said, when the government hinted at stopping subsidy to Naphtha based manufacturers, MCF spent Rs 300 crores to install machinery to produce urea using natural gas. However, the government has failed to provide gas connectivity from Kochi to Mangalore. We are forced to bear the brunt for no fault of ours, Suryanarayana said on behalf of the employees.
The employees and farmers plans to intensify the protest, if the government turns a deaf ear.
