Punjab farmers seek paddy rate at Rs 865 a quintal

New Delhi, July 26 (UNI) Braving incessant rains, hundreds of Punjab farmers today staged a march to Parliament seeking a raise of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the coming crop of paddy at Rs 865 a quintal and for raw cotton at Rs 3750 per quintal against their present rate of Rs 550 and Rs 1750 per quintal.

Similarly, calculating the fixing of MSP for crops on basis of wholesale price index, the farmers assembled under Bharati Kisan Union (Rajewala) also sought raising of price of sugarcane to Rs 168 a quintal.

Protesting farmers carrying placards and banners were stopped by a strong posse of police at Jantar Mantar where they held a rally demanding waiving of their loans and sought a 'farmer package' for Punjab by the Centre on lines of one announced by the Prime Minister for Vidarbha region of Maharashtra recently.

BKU leader Balbir Singh Rajewala, who led the protest also demanded the advancing of loans to the farmers at a rate of 4 per cent simple interest and putting a moratorium on all the recoveries of farmer loans calculated on the basis of compound interest.

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