Farmers block highway in Phagwara over sugarcane arrears
Phagwara, August 8
Farmers on Monday blocked traffic on a national highway near a sugar mill here to protest “inordinate” delays in clearance of arrears worth Rs 72 crore to cane growers by the mill management.
Under the banner of the Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba), the farmers began an “indefinite” sit-in on one side of the Ludhiana-Jalandhar section of NH-1 on Monday. The other side of the highway was kept open.
Addressing the protesters, BKU (D) president Manjit Singh Rai accused Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of having failed to resolve the issues faced by cane growers.
General secretary of the outfit Satnam Singh Sahni said, “If the amount of Rs 72 crore is not transferred into the cane growers’ accounts soon, we will block the other side of the highway too.” He also called upon the government to take control of the mill and attach its properties.
Kapurthala Senior Superintendent of Police Navneet Singh Bains said vehicular traffic was diverted through arterial routes due to the blockade.