Enraged over delayed payment, farmers threaten stir

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Ambala, June 4

Sugarcane farmers held a panchayat in Shahzadpur over the delay in payment of sugarcane by Naraingarh Sugar Mills Limited today. Farmers have served an ultimatum to the sugar mill to resolve their issue by June 24 or else they will launch a stir.

Farmers, under the banner of the BKU (Charuni) and Ganna Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, gathered at the Shahzadpur grain market to decide the future course of action.

SDM assures to release Rs 5 cr soon

The SDM assured us that a payment Rs 5 crore will be released soon. We’ve demanded that instead of utilising Rs 18 cr earned by the mill via the sale of power for clearing the bank payments, it should be used to clear the payment of farmers. —Gurnam Singh, BKU (charuni) chief

Farmers claim that they were yet to receive Rs 66 crore for the cane crushing season that ended in April. “As per the norms, the payment should be cleared within 14 days of the purchase,” they added.

After getting the information, Naraingarh SDM Saloni Sharma reached the spot and held a discussion with the farmers’ union.

BKU (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh said: “The SDM has assured that a payment Rs 5 crore will be released soon. We have demanded that instead of utilising the amount of Rs 18 crore earned by the mill through selling electricity for clearing the payments of banks, it should be used to clear the payments of farmers.”

“The SDM informed us that a meeting of senior officials is to be held in 10 days and a decision related to pending payments is likely to come up at the meeting. We have decided to hold a mahapanchayat on June 24 and if our demands are not met, we will block the Panchkula highway,” he added.