Rs 15 per quintal hike cruel joke: BKU-Kadian

Our Correspodent

Ludhiana, August 20

The Bhartiya Kisan Union-Kadian has rejected the hike of Rs 15 per quintal announced by Punjab Government for the next sugarcane crushing season (2021-22), saying it was too little and far too inadequate in the wake of a steep hike in the cost of input and other expenses incurred by growers.

Union president Harmeet Singh Kadian said even though the Punjab Government claimed to be “pro-farmer”, its real face stood exposed with the “cruel joke” played upon the sugarcane growers by way of a marginal increase in the state assisted price (SAP) and non-payment of arrears to the tune of over Rs 200 crore by private and cooperative sugar mills for the crop purchased during the last crushing season.