Farmers Cancel Today’s Protest After Punjab CM Accepts Majority of Demands

Many farmer organizations cancelled their planned agitation on August 3 after Chief Minister of Punjab Bhagwant Mann accepted the majority of demands, including the clearing of pending payments of sugarcane growers.

On Tuesday evening, Mann held a four-hour-long meeting with farmer leaders under the direction of Jagjit Singh Dallewal, President of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur).

Farmers had earlier said that they would block national highways on August 3 in three locations in Majha, Malwa, and Doaba if the state government would not resolve their problems, including the non-payment of sugarcane dues.

After the meeting, CM Mann announced, "I am dedicated to the welfare of farmers, and they won't need to stage protests for their genuine demands during my tenure."

The minister told there are Rs 195.60 crore sugarcane dues of which Rs 100 crore will be paid by August 15 and the remaining Rs 95.60 crore by September 7.

He said that the government and cooperative sugar mills' outstanding payments will be cleared by September 7.

Mann stated that all private sugar mills, except for Phagwara Sugar Mill, have agreed to make all outstanding payments by September 7. The Phagwara sugar mill owed Rs 72 crore to farmers, and after auctioning its land, Rs 20 crore will be recovered.

He further said that the state government will withdraw all the cases registered against farmers for agitating or burning stubble during the Covid-19 epidemic.

We have taken the step to cancel all FIRs registered against farmers, whether they were related to the Covid-19 pandemic, stubble burning, or protests, said Mann.

The minister told that he will raise this issue with the Indian government in regards to cases that the Railway Police Force had registered against farmers during their protest. The CM said that the state government is also finding ways to ensure that farmers do not follow the habit of burning stubble by appropriately incentivizing them.

He said the process of verification of direct seeding of rice is going on and farmers will be given the due amount soon.

He said that the process of providing jobs to the relatives of farmers who died during the protests against the now-repealed agricultural laws is already underway and that all of the surviving farmers' families would also soon receive compensation.