Mukerian: Farmers’ organisations under the non-political Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) began an indefinite protest outside the Mukerian sugar mill today, as per their earlier announcement. During the demonstration, sugarcane farmers raised slogans against the state government and the Punjab Cane Commissioner, reports The Tribune.
Speakers addressing the gathering said the state government had shown a negative approach toward farmers’ issues. They alleged that the government had taken misleading steps regarding the functioning of sugarcane mills.
Referring to the Sugarcane Control Board meeting held on November 24, leaders claimed that the Cane Commissioner delayed issuing the notification for the reopening of mills. They said the order, which mentioned reopening mills from November 25, was released only on November 26. At the same time, none of the state government or private mills were operational, and no mill had issued supply slips to farmers.
The leaders also pointed out that the Paniyad Cooperative Sugar Mill, recently inaugurated by the Punjab Chief Minister, had still not begun crushing. They noted that there was no clarity on when private mills would start operations and that the government had offered no firm timeline beyond assurances.
They added that sugar mills usually start working between November 5 and 25, and in earlier years some even opened in October. They said delays had become frequent under the current government, and this year farmers were facing an especially difficult situation.
Farmers also expressed anger over the lack of lump-sum payments on a single slip and the pending subsidy of ₹61 per quintal from the previous season.
Amarjit Singh Rada, state president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Azad, warned that the protest would continue unless the government restarted private and cooperative mills immediately and ensured counter payments at the time of issuing a single slip. He said the agitation would intensify in the coming days, including a full blockade of the Jalandhar–Pathankot National Highway.
Those addressing the protest included Satnam Singh Bagrian, state president of Pagdi Sambhal Lehar Punjab; Gurjinder Singh Jaggi, youth wing president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Sidhupur; Baba Kulwinder Singh, district president of Jalandhar; Harsalinder Singh, president of Kisan Welfare Committee Kishangarh; Hardev Singh Chitti of BKU Sirsa; Sonu Aulakh, president of Lok Insaaf Morcha Aulakh; Sukhpal Singh Daffar, state president of the Sugarcane Struggle Committee; and Thakur Dilip Singh, district president of BKU Ugrahan.
