Government should raise sugarcane price to at least Rs 500: Hooda

Chandigarh: Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has demanded that the support price of sugarcane be fixed at a minimum of Rs 500 per quintal.

He urged that paddy procurement be started immediately, and that the market fee be reduced by 1 per cent. He announced that he would donate one month’s salary to the flood relief fund and appealed to all MLAs, including Congress legislators, to also contribute one month’s salary to provide meaningful assistance to the flood-affected. Hooda was addressing reporters at his residence.

He said that floods have devastated nearly 30 lakh acres of farmland across Haryana, and around 5.1 lakh farmers are suffering losses. Despite more than a month having passed, the state continues to grapple with the aftermath, yet the BJP government has failed to take concrete steps to provide relief. Hooda, who personally visited flood-affected areas from Jind and Rohtak to Yamunanagar, said that everywhere people complained of a lack of assistance and inadequate relief measures.

Hooda expressed surprise that the Haryana government has neither declared the state flood-affected nor sought a relief package from the Centre. He said this reveals the government’s intention of keeping people trapped in prolonged processes of portals and land surveys, thereby withholding timely compensation.