Phagwara: Sugarcane farmers protesting under banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Doaba) called off their agitation after the Phagwara SDM Jai Inder Singh assured to work on pending cane dues issue, according Tribune India.
The farmers have however threatened to block traffic on NH if the payment is not released within 10 days.
During his address at the protest, Satnam Singh Sahni, a leader of BKU (Bharatiya Kisan Union), mentioned that a gym had been constructed on the land owned by the sugar mill. This property generated a monthly rent of approximately Rs 7 lakh from the gym and offices situated there. This rental income was being received by the heirs of the property, without any allocation to the farmers’ accounts. Sahni stated that they had already informed the authorities that the sale of land owned by the mill proprietors, which hadn’t been seized yet, should be halted.
Speaking to the agitators, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Phagwara said that the farmers’ demands were valid, and the authorities had devised a plan. This plan entails auctioning four key assets belonging to Jarnail Singh Wahid, Sukhbir Singh Sandhar, and Jaswinder Singh Bains—all previous partners of the mill—along with one mill property. This auction is scheduled to take place within the next 10 days.
