Farmers block Jalandhar–Pathankot National Highway

The protest launched by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and various active farmer organisations in front of the Mukerian sugar mill entered its second day on Friday. The agitation, which began on Thursday over long-pending demands of sugarcane farmers, continued throughout the night with no breakthrough coming from the government or the Cane Commissioner.

With no clarity from officials on the status of their demands, sugarcane farmers intensified their protest by blocking one side of the Jalandhar–Pathankot National Highway on Friday afternoon. Traffic movement was severely affected, causing inconvenience to commuters and school buses passing through the route. The police diverted vehicles through village roads via the PSPCL office, but due to limited space and heavy movement, people faced significant difficulty until the route slowly eased into a single-lane flow.

Farmer leaders, addressing the gathering on the second day, expressed deep concern over delayed start of the cane-crushing season. They said the postponement would lead to “heavy financial losses to sugarcane growers”. The leaders explained that if mills start late, the season would extend into the summer months, which increases labour expenses and reduces the weight of sugarcane — directly impacting farmers’ earnings.

Accusing the government of mismanagement, they warned that if sugar mills were not started soon, the agitation would become more intense. Addressing protesters, Satnam Singh Bagdian, state president, Pagri Sambhal Lehar Punjab, strongly criticised the government. He said, “The government has no concrete policy for running sugar mills or protecting cane farmers. It is shameful that farmers must come to roads just to get a fair price for their hard-earned crop and ensure mills start on time.” Several other leaders, including Amarjit Singh Rada (BKU Azad), Harsulinder Singh Dhillon (Kisan Welfare Committee Kishangarh), Sonu Aulakh (President, Kisan Bhalai Committee), Sukhpal Singh Daffar (President, Sugarcane Sangharsh Committee), Hardeep Singh Chitti (BKU Sirsa), Gulab Singh (General Secretary, BKU Siddhupur) and Balwinder Singh (BKU Ugrahan), addressed the gathering.

The farmers ended their protest later in the evening as the government issued as letter acceding to their demands that included paying Rs 68.50 to them as subsidy for the cane to be sold to sugar mills during the 2025-26 season. Letter in this regard was issued by Managing Secretary of Agriculture, Farmer Welfare, Horticulture, and Soil and Water Conservation Department, Punjab, this evening. — OC