Roorkee: Sugarcane farmers have demanded the compensation of Rs 10,000 per bigha for sugarcane crop loss due to recent floods and a price of Rs 600 per quintal for sugarcane, reports The Time of India.
The demand was made at a mahapanchayat organized by farmers under the banner of Uttarakhand Kisan Morcha (UKM) in the Roorkee area of Haridwar on Monday.
The mahapanchayat was attended by farmers from across the district, who reached the venue in over 1,000 tractors and motorcycles. The protest led to traffic holdovers across Roorkee.
The farmers have also put forward other demands that include the provision of free electricity for tube wells for a year and a complete waiver of all agricultural loans.
A memorandum of their demands was later presented to joint magistrate Abhinav Shah.
UKM president Gulshan Rod said that the farmers have already faced heavy losses due to incessant rains and flooding in the district. He said that the government is not handling the issues satisfactorily related to farmers.
SP (rural) Swapn Kishore Singh said that the police had informed schools and the public about the maha panchayat’s movement in advance to avoid congestion.
