In the latest update, the farmers are seeking a hike in sugarcane prices. Following this, they have blocked the rail tracks and a national highway in Jalandhar today. This has impacted the movement of the trains and vehicular traffic around the area.
50 Trains At The Ferozepur Division Have Been Cancelled
As per the railway officials at the Ferozepur division, around 50 trains have been cancelled and around 54 trains have either been diverted or short-terminated. This comes after many of the farmers on Friday launched a protest for an indefinite period to press the Punjab government to accept their demands regarding the pending amount of the sugarcane and further increasing the price of the sugarcanes.
So far, the protesting farmers have refused to lif the blockade until their demands are met. However, emergency vehicles have been allowed to pass by the protesting areas. Protestors have blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara stretch of the national highway near Dhanowali village of the Jalandhar district.
The blockade as of now has affected the trains to and from Jalandhar, Pathankot, and Amritsar. In spite of the fact that the administration has diverted the traffic via alternative routes. The farmers are sitting on the Jalandhar-Chaheru section and have blocked the Ludhiana-Amritsar and the Ludhiana-Jammu rail tracks in Jalandhar.
The farmers are demanding the Punjab government raise the State Assured Prices of Sugarcane and clear the payment of Rs 200-250 crores.
Sugarcane Prices In Punjab Haven’t Changed In Four Years
The prices of every crop generally increases every year. However, the price of sugarcane which is decided by the state government under the SAP have not been hiked since 2017-2018. Even though the prices of growing sugarcane has risen up over the years, the prices have remained the same. The prices of sugarcane for early, mid and later varieties is Rs 310, Rs 300 and Rs 295 per quintal depending on the harvest months.
