Sugarcane growers protest enters Day 2 in Jalandhar

Tribune News ServiceJalandhar August 21Demanding a fair price for their crop the protest by sugarcane growers entered the second day here on Saturday They were protesting under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha on the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway near the Dhanowali railway tracks While they had announced to continue the protest for an indefinite period if the government did not fulfil their demands help poured in from various quarters to support the farmersVillagers from across the district are helping out those who have come from far-off areas Langar is being served by nearby gurdwaras including Talhan gurdwara at the protest site As farmers and their supporters are staying put at the morcha site day and night community mattresses and water tanks have also been supplied from villagesHaving participated in the farmers protest at the Singhu and Tikri border points the farmers said now they were skilled to keep a protest going The food lodging and personal hygiene would not trouble them now They were only focused on safeguarding their rightsThe government remains unmoved until the farmers hit the roads Hence we do not have any other option left other than blocking the roads To feed the agitators ration was collected from each house in our villages We are bringing essential items on a rotation basis supplies added 23-year-old farmer Surinder Singh who had come from Bhogpur along with 50 other farmers from his villageMembers of the Edu Youth Foundation who have been supplying goods and ration to Singhu border for the last six months also brought two water tankers of 10000 litre capacity each Kanwar Sartaj Singh a member of the foundation said there were nearly 2000 farmers at the morcha site therefore we brought the tankers accordingly Moreover tankers of 5000-20000-litre capacities were also brought in from adjacent villagesRanbir Singh a member of the Doaba Kisan Sangharsh Committee said farmers from the Doaba Malwa and Majha regions were participating in the protest and arrangements had already been made to keep the squatters at the highway If the government remains adamant on its stance the Singhu border-like constructions will be created here added RanbirComparing the disparity in per quintal price the farmers in the state are demanding a hike of Rs 90 for sugarcane At present they are getting per quintal price of Rs 310 which is even lesser than that in Haryana Rs 358Makeshift lavatories set upTo avoid open defecation by the agitators the administration installed makeshift washrooms adjacent the Dhannowali railway tracks Vijay Kumar Junior Engineer of the Water and Sanitation Department Vijay Kumar said around 27 toilets for both men and women and four set of urinals had been installed at the site Considering the possibility of women joining the protest 10 toilets had been reserved for them Besides medical camps near the protest site were set up by Johal Hospital