Bijnor: Farmers from Raipur Bemisal staged a protest on Thursday, blocking the Bijnor-Haridwar road at around 2 PM to demand the establishment of a sugarcane purchase centre in their village, reports Live Hindustan.
During the demonstration, they stopped vehicles transporting sugarcane to Barkatpur Sugar Mill but allowed general traffic to pass. Soon, a long line of trucks and tractor-trailers loaded with sugarcane formed along one side of the road.
For the past three years, farmers from Raipur Bemisal, located in Mohammadpur Devmal block, have been trying to get a sugarcane purchase centre set up in their village for Uttam Sugar Mill in Barkatpur. Despite completing all the required paperwork and securing approval from nearly all officials in the sugarcane department, the mill administration has reportedly been using legal technicalities to delay the process.
Fifteen days ago, an accident occurred when a vehicle collided with a tractor-trailer carrying sugarcane near Chandak railway crossing, just 150 meters from Nangal Road. The farmer involved narrowly escaped with his life. Several similar accidents have happened in the past.
Two weeks ago a meeting was held at the Najibabad tehsil office when the mill officials had promised to set up an alternative sugarcane purchase centre in the village within ten days. However, with no action taken even after fifteen days, farmers decided to launch a protest.
Farmers gathered at Chandak Mandi Samiti under the leadership of Dr Vijay Singh, Block President of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait faction) in Mohammadpur Devmalto stage a sit-in protest.
By 2 PM, with no officials arriving to address their concerns, the agitated farmers blocked the gates of Chandak Mandi Samiti, stopping all sugarcane-laden vehicles heading to the mill. Senior officials, including the Circle Officer (CO) of Bijnor, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Mandawar Station House Officer (SHO), District Sugarcane Officer, and representatives from the sugar mill, arrived at the scene to negotiate with the farmers. After discussions, the mill administration assured that a sugarcane purchase centre would be set up in Raipur Bemisal within five days.
Following this assurance, the farmers agreed to end their protest and allowed the sugarcane-laden vehicles to proceed. However, the BKU (Tikait) Block President issued a warning, stating that if the mill administration fails to fulfil its promise, a district-level Mahapanchayat will be organized in Chandak, for which the Bijnor administration will be held responsible.
