Rail, road blockade in Jalandhar: Farmer unions, agri experts differ on cane SAP; CM to take call today
Officials say state government fully committed to the welfare of cane growers and their genuine concerns were heard patiently
Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh will take the final call on the new state assured price (SAP) for the sugarcane crop on Tuesday as the farmer union leaders and agriculture experts failed to reach a consensus on the issue amid an ongoing rail and road blockade in Jalandhar.
Amarinder will preside over a meeting with farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
Monday’s meeting was attended by Punjab commissioner (agriculture) Balwinder Singh Sidhu, director agriculture Sukhdev Singh, Jalandhar deputy commissioner Ghanshyam Thori and others while farmer union leaders included Balbir Singh Rajewal, Manjit Singh Rai and Jagjit Singh Dallewal.
Balwinder Sidhu said the state government was fully committed to the welfare of the cane growers. “All genuine concerns of farmers were heard patiently. A consensus between the government and farmers has evolved on most of the issues but differences remain on some which are expected to be resolved in tomorrow’s meeting. Today’s meeting was a step in the right direction to end the ongoing agitation,” he said.
Manjit Singh Rai, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Doaba) chief, said, “We have calculated the cost of crop production at ₹470 per quintal whereas the experts calculated it ₹345 per quintal.”
Rai after a meeting with cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Sunday had pegged the production cost at ₹392 per quintal. “Earlier, we had come up with a rough calculation by taking clues from other states,” he said.
“We have postponed Tuesday’s Punjab bandh call but will continue to block the national highway and rail tracks,” he added.
Railways to refund ₹53 lakh to over 12,000 passengers
The Ferozepur railway division announced to refund money to all the passengers who couldn’t undertake travel due to the farmers’ protest from August 20 to 23. ₹53.65 lakh will be refunded to 12,300 passengers, an railway spokesperson said.
Of the 63 trains affected due to the protest on Monday, 27 were cancelled, 11 were diverted and 25 were short-terminated, he added.
Hundreds of farmers from across Punjab had on Friday launched the agitation for an indefinite period to press the Punjab government to accept their demands related to pending dues of sugarcane and hike in crops prices.