Muzaffarnagar: Bhartiya Kisan Union chief
Mahendra Singh Tikait on Sunday threatened to sell his produce in
Uttarakhand if sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh did not give
better return for the farmers` produce.
Talking to the media here, Tikait said Uttarakhand sugar
mills are purchasing sugarcane for Rs 220-225 per quintal,
which is much more than the State Advised Price (SAP) of Rs
170 being offered by the UP government.
Tikait also accused the UP government of working in the
interest of mill owners and not for farmers.
The BKU chairman also threatened that the union will
mobilise farmers to gather in Lucknow and stage a `gherao` of
UP Assembly if their demands were not met soon.
Crushing work in sugar mills has suffered in the state
due to the protests, forcing India to import sugar from
Brazil.
Political pressure on sugarcane pricing has forced the
Union government to amend the October Ordinance clause which
asked state governments to pay the difference of `fair and
remunerative price` and SAP. It is now up to the sugar mills
to provide the difference of amount, but a final decision on
it is yet to be taken.
PTI
