Sugarcane farmers demanding a fair price for their crop continue to demonstrate against the state government and have blocked the Jalandhar-Delhi National Highway on the second day of protest.
Hundreds of people could be seen sitting on NH 1 waving farmer union flags and shouting anti-government slogans. This demonstration has brought together as many as 32 farmer unions.
From Rama Mandi to Ludhiana, NH-1 is blocked. Similarly, the railway track near Dhannowali gate is jammed and Punjab Roadways has halted bus operation in this situation. The farmers' protest has disrupted as many as 23 trains leading to cancellations of 12 trains, so far.
Now, the sugarcane commissioner is scheduled to arrive in Jalandhar today for the negotiations with protestors. While the state government announced that the SAP would be increased by Rs 15 per quintal, the farmers have become even more agitated. According to the farmers, sugarcane growers in Haryana were paid Rs 48 more than those in Punjab.
Manjit Singh Rai, the leader of the Ganna Sangharsh Committee, stated that the dharna will not end till the price of sugarcane reaches Rs 400.
“The Amarinder Singh government has made us the target of a cruel joke. They have mocked us by announcing a meagre rise of Rs 15 per quintal. During the finalisation of this amount, the state government did not have any of us as representatives. We expected the SAP on sugarcane to be raised to at least Rs 370, as compared to the previous price of Rs 295 to 310 (varying according to variety)," said Manjit Rai, head of the Bhartiya Kisan Union earlier.
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According to the leaders, the per quintal price of sugarcane in Haryana was Rs 350 last year and had now been raised to Rs 358, but sugarcane growers in Punjab had been receiving a price of Rs 310 per quintal for the last five years.
Tomorrow is Rakshabandhan and people are likely to travel more. This has also contributed to the ruckus caused in the city owing to protest. To ease the problem of commuters the police have diverted the traffic to alternative routes because of Day 2 of the protest. Besides police officials have urged people to leave their houses only when necessary.
In case someone has a problem, they can contact the Jalandhar Traffic Police at 0181-2227296).