UP farmers block train to protest against non-lucrative sugarcane prices

Muzaffarnagar (UP), Nov. 1 (ANI): Protesting against "the government fixing non-lucrative price for sugarcane," hundreds of farmers blocked a freight train ferrying sugar at Shamli railway station in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

They unloaded the huge consignment of imported Brazilian sugar from the wagons and set afire the sacks.

They also deflated the tyres of trucks deployed to collect the sugar sacks.

"This (pricing policy and import of sugar) will cause a loss to sugarcane farmers. We will not let these sugar sacks reach its destination. Our sugarcane rate is rupees 280 (around 6 US dollars) per quintal. We should be given our price," said Rakesh Tikait, General Secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Union.

Earlier, the activists of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) had blocked the train laden with 26,000 quintals of sugar imported from Brazil as their protest against the sugarcane purchase policy of the federal and state governments.

On October 23, the Uttar Pradesh government had announced increase of Rs 25 per quintal in the sugarcane State Advised Price (SAP), while the farmers had demanded a price of Rs 280 per quintal of cane.ast year, the SAP was Rs 140. (ANI)