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Don’t harass people by blocking roads, Punjab CM Mann tells protesting farmers
Farmers under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara section of the Jalandhar-New Delhi national highway for an indefinite period on Tuesday, seeking a hike in sugarcane prices. The traffic has been diverted to link roads, causing inconvenience to the commuters
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann condemned farmers’ unions for blocking national highways and causing inconvenience to people.
Farmers under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara section of the Jalandhar-New Delhi national highway for an indefinite period on Tuesday, seeking a hike in sugarcane prices. The traffic has been diverted to link roads, causing inconvenience to the commuters.
The farmer unions are demanding hike in sugarcane assured price from ₹380 to ₹450 per quintal, single window and counter payment system at the sugar mills, compensation for the sugarcane crop damaged due to floods and other factors and to start crushing of sugar mills.
Mann asked the farmer unions to stop the undue harassment of the common man by blocking roads in the state.
“The farm unions must desist from creating inconvenience to the common man else the people will turn against them. For the sake of their vested interests, the unions are harassing people by blocking the roads thereby jeopardising their routine lives, which is highly unfortunate. The doors of my office and residence along with Punjab Bhawan, Punjab Civil Secretariat and the office of the agriculture minister are always open for dialogue,” he said.
He cautioned the farmer unions that if the unions don’t mend their ways and shun these practices, then they won’t find people to stand by their side.
Meanwhile, the protesting unions condemned the CM’s remarks saying that they are protesting for their genuine demands.
SKM activist Manjit Singh Rai said before becoming the CM, Mann himself supported the sugarcane growers’ demand of hike in assured price of the crop but after coming to power, the CM has failed to take note of their demands.
Ready for talks, govt ignoring sugarcane growers: Farmers
“The government has completely ignored sugarcane growers. We were ready for talks but the government backtracked from its assurance of an increase in the assured price of the sugarcane,” he said.
He added that earlier, they had planned a protest on November 8 but postponed it after concrete assurance from the state government regarding fulfilment of their demands.
“Our intentions are not to harass common man but we are left with no option than to block highways. If the farmers could sit on Delhi borders for nearly two years against the Centre government, we can do the same in Punjab for our genuine demands,” he said.
