Blockade continues outside Phagwara sugar mill

An indefinite dharna started by the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Doaba) on Monday over the issue of tardy procurement of paddy continued for the second consecutive day on Tuesday outside Phagwara sugar mill.

Commuters remained a harried lot as several rounds of meetings between Deputy Commissioner Kapurthala Amit Kumar Panchal, Senior Superintendent of Police Vatasala Gupta and farm activists brought only a partial relief.

The farmers agreed to unblock the service lanes on either side of the highway past noon today.

The traffic heading from Jalandhar towards Ludhiana passed steadily while those coming from the opposite side remained stuck up because of a turn towards Nakodar.

Both Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police went to grain markets to meet the commission agents.

Panchal assured farm leaders that efforts were being made to start procurement and lifting of paddy in grain markets of Kapurthala district, including Phagwara.

BKU(Doaba) president Manjit Singh Rai and General Secretary Satnam Singh Sahni said they were sitting on protest against slow lifting and purchase of produce below the minimum support price (MSP) by private traders at several grain markets of the state.