Farmer organisations to stop trains on Oct 20

Moga, Oct 14 (UNI) Five farmer organisations of Punjab have warned to resort to a rail blockade throughout the state on October 20 if the Centre failed to hike paddy MSP of Rs 1300 per quintal plus Rs 300 as bonus (Rs 200 by the Centre and Rs 100 by the state government) and also if the state government failed to abolish 8 per cent cess on cotton.

BKU Ekta (Ugrahon), Kisan Sangharash Committee, Punjab Kisan Sabha (Taggar), All India Kirti Kisan Sabha and Punjab Kisan Sabha (Sambar) stated this after a five hour deliberation held yesterday at Barnala.

Sukhdev Singh Kokari General Secretary BKU Ekta (Ugrahon) informed the mediapersons here today that during the meeting farmer organisations held the Centre and the Punjab Government responsible for exploitation of farmers in purchase of paddy and cotton.

"Due to 8 per cent cess on cotton in Punjab. The traders are reluctant to purchase cotton from Punjab mandis as the cess in the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu is only one and half per cent," he said.

Kisan organisations according to Kokari asked the state government to withdraw cess on the cotton by the mandi board and to adopt the other cotton grower states' pattern of only one and half percent cess.

They said that if the board failed to withdraw the hike, farmers would not hesitate to intensify the struggle after rail roko programme of October 20.

The farmers were also critical for the late arrival of Cotton Corporation of India in the mandis and moreover CCI buying nominal quantity and traders were exploiting the cotton growers by purchasing produce less than of MSP of Rs 2800 per quintal.

The farmer organisations demanded hike in the MSP of cotton from Rs 2800 to Rs 4000 per quintals and sugarcane MSP at Rs 200 per quintal.

They also urged that paddy must be purchased by the agencies upto 22 per cent moisture.

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