Phagwara: Members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Doaba, led by State General Secretary Satnam Singh Sahni, held a protest outside the office of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in Phagwara on Tuesday. The farmers demanded immediate payment of long-pending sugarcane arrears and urged the Punjab Government to fix sugarcane prices at ₹500 per quintal for the upcoming crushing season, reports The Tribune.
Addressing the protesters, Sahni said farmers had been waiting for four years to receive their overdue payments, alleging that the AAP-led state government had failed to resolve the issue. He also criticised the government for delays in providing compensation to families affected by recent floods. Sahni further said no financial help had been given to farmers who lost tractors and equipment at the Khanouri and Shambhu borders when protests were forcibly removed.
Calling the protest a “signal” to the administration, Sahni said the union would intensify its agitation if their demands were ignored, adding that farmers may block GT Road in Jalandhar on November 21 as the next step.
After the protest, union leaders submitted a memorandum of demands to SDM Phagwara, Jashanjeet Singh. The demonstration remained peaceful, and farmers dispersed around 1 pm. Senior BKU Doaba leaders, including Santokh Singh Lakhpur, Press Secretary Gurpal Singh Pala, and Harbhajan Bajwa, were also present.
Meanwhile, several farmer organisations from the sugarcane-growing areas of the district staged a separate protest outside the Mini Secretariat, raising similar concerns about pending dues and other issues. The protest was led by various leaders, including Jangveer Singh Chauhan, State President of the Doaba Kisan Committee Punjab, and Manjit Singh Rai, State President of BKU Doaba.
Speaking at the gathering, farmer leaders said the new sugarcane season had already begun in November, but the government had not issued any notification on reopening sugar mills. They pointed out that pending dues from the previous season had still not been released, causing widespread anger among farmers.
The leaders warned they would block the Dhannowali stretch of the National Highway and railway tracks in Jalandhar on November 21 if the notification was not issued by November 20.
