The farmers have been demanding that the Punjab government raise the state assured price (SAP) of sugarcane and clear payment of arrears to the tune of Rs 200-250 crore.
Jalandhar, Punjab: Sugarcane farmers blocked the highway and railway track in Punjab’s Jalandhar on Saturday, impacting the movement of trains and vehicular traffic for the second day.
The farmer had launched the agitation on Friday for an indefinite period to press the Punjab government to accept their demands related to pending dues of sugarcane and hike in cane prices.
“If the government doesn’t hold talks with us by today evening, then we’ll give Punjab Bandh call. We’ll try to avoid imposing a bandh for tomorrow due to the festival of Rakhi,” ANI quoted MS Rai, BKU-Doaba.
The agitating farmers have blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara stretch of the national highway near the Dhanowali village in Jalandhar. The blockade affected traffic to and from Jalandhar, Amritsar and Pathankot, though the administration diverted traffic through some alternative routes.
The farmers have been demanding that the Punjab government raise the state assured price (SAP) of sugarcane and clear payment of arrears to the tune of Rs 200-250 crore.
Meanwhile, the railway officials of the Ferozepur division have informed that as many as 50 trains have been cancelled, while 54 have either been diverted or short-terminated.
‘Debt waiver scheme for farm labourers’
Earlier on Friday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh rolled out a Rs 520 crore debt relief scheme for 2.85 lakh farm labourers and landless farmers on the occasion of 77th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
He said his government had decided to waive loans amounting to Rs 520 crore of farm labour and landless farmers with respect to the principal amount against their cooperative loans as of July 31, 2017, and simple interest at the rate of 7 per cent per annum on the above amount till March 6, 2019.
The state government had earlier waived Rs 4,700 crore worth of loans (up to Rs 2 lakh of crop loans each) for 5.85 lakh small and marginal farmers under the debt waiver scheme.
