Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Multi-Ethnic Affairs and Sugar Industry, Dr Vinesh Kumar met a farmer in Rakiraki last night who lost 400 tonnes of cane in a fire.
Dr Kumar said the fire is a “setback, not defeat.”
“The Minister for Sugar Industry Hon. Charan Jeath Singh and our team are working tirelessly to address the many challenges facing growers like you—from labor availability to quota management. You are not alone in this,” Dr Kumar told the farmer, Vincent Rattan.
The PS also met with Rakiraki police to discuss cane fires in the district.
He asked for increasing night patrols in vulnerable cane belt areas, conducting regular camp visits to locations where cane cutters are temporarily housed, exploring the possibility of restricted movement after 10pm in high-risk zones and addressing the rise in general criminal activity in cane farming communities during the harvesting period
“This is not just a threat to livelihoods but to lives and the nation’s sugar industry as a whole,” he said.
“Full cooperation from all stakeholders will be critical in bringing the situation under control.”
