CURATED BY – GAURAV SINGHAL | CITYCHIEFNEWS

Deoband (Saharanpur), while addressing a meeting in village Zaheerpur, National President of Bharatiya Kisan Union Verma and West Pradesh Mukti Morcha, Bhagat Singh Verma said that the cost of sugarcane production is continuously increasing due to rising inflation. The production cost of sugarcane is coming to ₹ 550 per quintal. The government is not able to get the sugar mills to pay ₹ 370 per quintal to the sugarcane farmers on time. According to the Sugar Control Order 1966, the sugar mills which do not pay the sugarcane farmers within 14 days should pay the sugarcane farmers at 15% annual rate. Sugar mills which have outstanding sugarcane payment and interest. Such sugar mills have no right to deduct transportation charges from sugarcane farmers. Bhagat Singh Verma said that the Hon'ble High Court and the Hon'ble Supreme Court have ordered that sugar mills should immediately pay interest to sugarcane farmers. 17 thousand crore rupees interest is pending on 120 sugar mills of Uttar Pradesh for delayed sugarcane payments in the past years and 35 thousand crore rupees interest is pending on the sugar mills of the country. The Modi government at the center and the Yogi government in the state are not taking any concrete action to get this payment. Bhagat Singh Verma said that in view of the increasing cost of sugarcane, the Yogi government of BJP should immediately declare the beneficial price of sugarcane as ₹ 700 per quintal and get the outstanding sugarcane payment and interest from the sugar mills immediately. Bhagat Singh Verma said that in the year 1967, when Chaudhary Charan Singh was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the price of sugarcane was 12 rupees 10 paise per quintal. In 1967, the salary of a primary school teacher was ₹70 per month and that of an IAS and IPS officer was ₹250 per month. Today, the salary of a teacher, collector and SP has increased 1000 times to 70000 rupees and 2.5 lakh rupees. According to this, the price of sugarcane should also increase 1000 times. Bhagat Singh Verma said that the government is not able to provide the sugarcane farmers the cost price of ₹550 per quintal, let alone the profitable price of ₹700 per quintal, due to which the sugarcane farmers of Uttar Pradesh are sinking into heavy debt. National President Bhagat Singh Verma wrote a letter to His Excellency the President and Prime Minister Modi demanding that sugarcane farmers should get a remunerative price of ₹ 700 per quintal, sugar mills should immediately pay the outstanding sugarcane dues, interest on the delayed sugarcane payments of the past years should be paid to sugarcane farmers immediately, no transport charges should be deducted from sugarcane farmers, 1 kg deduction from one quintal of sugarcane should be stopped and underweighing should be stopped in sugar mills, sugar mills should provide free press mud to sugarcane farmers for fertilizer. While chairing the meeting, State Vice President of West Pradesh Mukti Morcha Rao Shahid Pradhan said that the day a separate West Pradesh will be formed, sugarcane farmers of West Pradesh will be given a remunerative price of ₹ 700 per quintal in cash from the sugar mills. While conducting the meeting, State General Secretary Asim Malik said that the fight for a separate West Pradesh and sugarcane farmers has begun which is turning into a mass movement. The only solution to all the growing problems is the formation of a separate West Pradesh. District Vice President Wasim Zaheerpur, District Minister Mehboob Hasan, Sandeep Chaudhary, Gaurav Sharma, Abhishek Chaudhary, Riyasat Pehlwan, Mohammad Khushnasib, Haji Suleman, Haji Irfan, Mohammad Furqan, Amir Ahmed, Babu Khan, Mohammad Tanveer, Mohammad Farooq, Ejaz Ahmed, Mohammad Rashid, Tamrez, Haji Sajid, Haji Kamil, Amir Alam, Junaid, Sadiq, Haji Budhu Hasan, Sahaban, Nawab Ali etc. participated in the meeting.