Farmers protest delay in payment of sugarcane dues

Tribune News Service

Karnal, August 8

Fumed over the delay in payment of sugarcane dues and construction of a new sugar mill, farmers under the banner of the Bhartiya Kisan Union staged a dharna outside the residence of Karnal MP Ashwini Chopra here on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, their dharna outside the Karnal Co-operative Sugar Mill here entered 17th day on Wednesday. In support of their demands, 39 women farmers led by Neelam Rana, district president, women cell of the BKU, courted arrest, while farmers led by BKU state president Rattan Mann staged a dharna outside the residence of Karnal MP.

They submitted a memorandum to the representative of the MP demanding that Chopra should raise the issue of sugarcane farmers in Parliament. Before staging the dharna, they took out a procession in the city. The women farmers protested with bangles in their hands.

Neelam said that they were demanding their payment which was not cleared so far by the government even after three months of the procurement of their sugarcane.

She said that the farmers had been staging dharna for the last 17 days and not even a single MLA had come to meet them. Mann said, “We will continue our fight till we get justice.” Harvinder Kalyan, Gharaunda MLA and HAFED Chairman, said that the government had already released Rs 200 crore for clearing the pending amount of the farmers and paper work for the construction of new sugar mill was underway. Tenders for the new sugar mill would be floated soon, he said.