Hundreds of sugarcane farmers in Uttar Pradesh today protested outside the Vidhan Sabha in state capital against government’s decision to hike Rs 10 in minimum support price (MSP).
Farmers, led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union, burnt their crop outside and raised slogans against the BJP government, terming the Rs 10 hike in MSP as ‘paltry’. They said that the BJP has gone back on its poll promise of fixing sugarcane price at Rs 450 per quintal.
Earlier this week, the government had increased the MSP for sugarcane by Rs 10 per quintal, bringing the MSP to Rs 315 per quintal.
Protesting farmers also threatened to launch an agitation across the state if their demands were not met within a fixed time frame.
Harinam Singh Verma of the BKU said the BJP government has rubbed salt on their injuries with such a paltry hike and said the Adityanath government was behaving like its predecessor by taking the side of the sugar mill owners.
The farmers first set sugarcane on fire outside the state assembly building and the state BJP headquarters and later headed towards the Collectorate.
The farmers will now get Rs 3.15 per kg against the earlier price of Rs 3.05 per kg. The sugar cane industry has however welcomed the price hike by the state government as reasonable.
