Karnal/Panipat, January 10
Intensifying the agitation for higher minimum support price (MSP) for sugarcane, farmers staged dharnas in front of sugar mills across the state and burnt the effigies of the government to protest against its "indifferent attitude". The decision to continue the dharna was taken at the 21-member state-level Sugarcane Agitation Action Committeee at its meeting held in Pipli yesterday, national vice-president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Ratan Mann said.

Braving intense cold wave conditions, the farmers continued the dharna in front of sugar mills for the sixth day today and the supply of sugarcane to mills came to a halt.

The action committee decided to spread the agitation to villages and deputed farmer leaders to visit the villages and make the farmers aware of the "adamant attitude of the government" towards their demand for MSP of Rs 300 per quintal, on a par with neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Mann said as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee, the MSP should be Rs 354 per quintal on the basis of cost of production and 50 per cent profit but the government must pay MSP at Rs 300 per quintal till the recommendations of the committee are implemented. Mann said farmer leaders would motivate the farmers to join the protest to make the government yield to their demand.

Mann accused the government of misleading the people by give wrong statements about the demands of the farmer to weaken the agitation but the farmers were determined to continue the agitation till the demand for higher MSP is accepted.