MSP for jute: Farmers, traders block NH
BALURGHAT: A group of jute farmers and traders of South Dinajpur district blocked Balurghat-Hili National Highway (NH) 512 on Sunday in Balurghat block’s Kamarpara area to protest against the price of jute falling below Minimum Support Price (MSP) that was fixed by the state government and jute mills not buying jute.
The NH was closed for traffic due to this blockade for about an hour. Later a large contingent of police force from the Balurghat Police Station reached the spot to restore normalcy. The roadblock and the agitation was lifted after police intervention.
According to the protesters, the jute is not being procured at the MSP rate and on the other hand, the jute mills have also stopped purchasing jute.
The protesters alleged that a group of unscrupulous jute traders are involved in an illegal trade by joining hands with the mill owners. Kamalendu Ghosh, general secretary, North Bengal Small Jute Traders Samiti and president of Balurghat Jute Unit, who was present in the demonstration, said: “The government should immediately take an effective action regarding the procurement of jute at MSP. The farmers associated with the jute farming are incurring huge loss due to the non-procurement of jute by the mills. The government has also stopped purchasing the same from the farmers. If this situation continues, I’m afraid to say that the farmers will be forced to commit suicide.”
According to him, the jute farmers used to invest Rs 15,000 for jute cultivation per bigha of land and they only got Rs 9000 for selling the same.
“The jute farming will collapse if such a situation continues. We, the small traders, do assure the farmers to cooperate with them wholeheartedly if the state government intervenes. We have information that a group of big jute traders is involved in illegal trade by joining hands with the mill owners. The mill owners are purchasing jute from them at night,” he said.
He threatened for a continuous agitation in the future if the state government keeps silent regarding the matter.
