It was a day of lockout in sugar mills in the state. Farmers protesting against ‘inadequate’ minimum support price (MSP) have stopped the supply of sugarcane to the mills from today.
“Not even a single farmer brought his produce to the sugar mills as repeated protests by cane growers for increase in MSP fell on deaf ears,” said Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) national vice-president Rattan Mann.
The decision to stop the supply of sugarcane from today was taken at a meeting, he said, adding that unless ‘adequate’ MSP was given to the cane growers, they would not bring their produce to the mills.
The farmers also locked the Cooperative Sugar Mill here and sat on a dharna. They demanded that the Swaminathan Committee report on MSP for agricultural produce should be implemented and the farmers must get 50 per cent over and above the cost of production.
He said per quintal production cost of sugarcane was Rs 236 and the MSP should be Rs 354 per quintal as per the formula derived by the Swaminathan Committee.
Mann said the state government was paying just Rs 240 per quintal, while Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were giving Rs 290 and Rs 295 per quintal, respectively.
He said the future course of action would be decided in a meeting at Radhor on January 11.
Sonepat: Hundreds of farmers locked the main gate of the Cooperative ugar Mill here and launched an indefinite dharna at the gate.
State president, BKU (Ambawat), Shamsher Singh and district president Rohtas Baniwal said the dharna would continue till their demands were accepted.
Mill managing director Virender Lather said, “Keeping in view the decision of the BKU, the crushing has been stopped.” He said the state government had given Rs 10 crore to the mill for payment for the last crushing season.
Cane growers of Gohana region had also locked the main gate of the Chaudhary Devi Lal Cooperative Sugar Mill, Ahulana near Gohana.
Kurukshetra: Workers of the INLD, led by state president Ashok Arora, joined the dharna organised by the BKU in front of the Shahabad Cooperative Sugar Mill.
Former Haryana Agriculture Minister Jasvinder Singh Sandhu and Zila Parishad chairman Praveen Umri also joined the dharna.
Arora said a delegation led by INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala would meet the Haryana Governor in Chandigarh on January 8 to demand increase in support price of sugarcane and wheat.