Phagwara: Sugarcane growers lift dharna after minister’s assurance

Tribune Reporters

Amritsar/Phagwara, September 4

After a meeting with the representatives of farmer unions in Amritsar on Sunday, Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said the government had got Rs 23.76 crore from the sale of the defaulting mill’s property in Haryana and dues of sugarcane farmers would be paid soon.

Dues will be paid soon

The govt has got Rs 23.76 crore from the sale of the defaulting mill’s property in Haryana. Dues of sugarcane farmers will be paid soon. Kuldeep Dhaliwal, Cabinet Minister

Mills will be run properly

Sugar mills will be run properly in the upcoming crushing season. If owners of the mills won’t do the job, the government will step in. Jasvir Singh, Urmar MLA

Following the announcement, sugarcane farmers, who had been protesting on the Phagwara highway, agreed to lift their dharna which had been continuing for the past 28 days over the pending Rs 72 crore.

The minister said the maximum problem was being faced by the farmers from Doaba region as an amount of Rs 72 crore was pending against a private sugar mill based at Phagwara.

“The remaining amount too will be recovered soon and the process to attach the property of mill owners for the purpose is underway,” said Dhaliwal, while addressing the media after the meeting with farmer leaders.

In view of the upcoming sugarcane season, the government is discussing the issue of operating the Phagwara mill with other private sugar mill owners, stated Dhaliwal, adding if they failed to find a suitable operator, the state government would run the mill and farmers would not have to face any problem.

The minister also requested the farmer leaders to discuss their problems with the representatives of the state government so that a solution could be found before they resort to dharna and demonstrations.

In Phagwara, soon after the minister’s announcement, Urmar MLA Jasvir Singh Raja, SDM Satwant Singh, SP Mukhtiar Rai and other senior officers from the Agriculture Department reached the dharna site and informed the protesters about the decision.

The MLA assured the farmers that the Agriculture Minister will hold a meeting with Chief Minister within a week and also with leaders of BKU (Doaba) on September 10 or 11 on the pending dues and other related issues.

Following which, BKU (Doaba) leader Satnam Singh Sahni and other farmers lifted the dharna and normal vehicular traffic on either side of the national highway was restored.