Decision on sugarcane price hike soon, Khattar assures

Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday assured the delegation of farmers who came to meet him at his residence, Sant Kabir Kutir, that the state government would soon take a decision in the best public interest.

The government has constituted a committee to fix the price of sugarcane. The decision will be taken by the committee keeping in view all the points raised by the farmers including the cost and recovery of sugar, price of sugarcane in neighbouring states, and other important demands of the farmers, said Khattar.

He urged the farmers not to adopt the agitation way as the closure of sugar mills is neither in the interest of the farmers nor of the mills.

“Let the sugar mills run smoothly as the closing of mills is not going to benefit anyone,” said Chief Minister.

He called upon the farmers not to get misled by anyone in any way. Farmer brothers should take a wise decision and let the mills run smoothly, he asserted. “The state government has always stood shoulder to shoulder with the farmers. In the last 8 years, we have continuously started new schemes in the interest of farmers. The committee constituted by the state government will look into the demands of the sugarcane farmers and take appropriate decision, which will be beneficial for all in the long run,” said the Chief Minister.

Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture, and the Farmers’ Welfare Department, Dr. Sumita Misra, the delegation of farmers’ representatives, and other officers remained present in the meeting.

Rattan Mann, President of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, who led the farmers, however, said that the meeting ended without any result.

“A Panchayat of the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha will be held at Jind on January 26 to decide our future course of action. A delegation of 101 farmers will try to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on January 29 when he is coming to address a rally at Gohana,” said Mann.