Punjab government left us with no choice: Protesting farmers

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 20

Mounting sugarcane dues and low state advisory prices (SAP) have irked thousands of farmers of the Doaba region. As many as 20,000 farmers staged a protest on the first day of the agitation on the Dhanowali Road on the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway on Friday. Many farmers sat on dharna on rail tracks also.

They said demand letters were being given to the state government on the issue for the past many years. But the continued lack of response from the state government has forced them to take the step.

Farmers sought enhancement of the SAP of sugarcane to at least Rs400/quintal.

Kuldip Singh, president, Doaba Kisan Union, said: “The state government left us with no choice. For six years the government hasn’t increased the rates of SAP for sugarcane. The prices of fertilisers, labour, diesel rates are increasing. We have been giving demand letters to the government every year. When the government came in 2017, then there was just a 10 rupee increase in the rate while they had promised 20. Earlier, the Akalis didn’t increase the rate, then the Congress came and promised they will increase the rate by Rs 10 every year. If they increased even that much every year, we wouldn’t have complained. But we need the sugarcane SAP to be at least Rs 400 per quintal.”

He added, “The government already owes us Rs 2,000 crore for past five years. They are not clearing our payments. It owes pending dues of Rs 56 crore to sugar mills. We are committed to receive sugarcane SAP rates at least on par with Haryana. The administration met us today. But as long as the CM doesn’t come to the table, a decision can’t possibly be arrived at. The decision has to be taken by the state government.”

While 32 farmers unions under the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha back the Jalandhar stir, the five Doaba unions which are primarily involved in the morcha, including Doaba Kisan Union, Bhartiya Kisan Union, Doaba Kisan Sangharsh Committee and Majha Kisan Sangharsh Committee.

Tony Sandhu, a farmer from Rurka Kalan, said, “Farmers have been forced to hold a protest in Punjab due to the lackadaisical approach of the government. On the one hand the state government shows solidarity with farmers while on the other farmers are not getting sugarcane rates. Farmers spend at least Rs 1 lakh per acre on sugarcane cultivation. A rate of at least Rs400 per quintal is imperative.”