Sugar Mill Phagwara: A large number of farmers gathered in Phagwara and locked the Wahad Sandhar Sugar Mill. Members of Bharatiya Kisan Union Doaba staged a day-long protest on Thursday. Angry over the sugar mill's non-payment of Rs 27 crore dues, the farmers locked the gate of the mill's 10 kanal 12 marla plot in the presence of SSP Kapurthala. However, in the meantime, the police tried their best to stop them.
Sugarcane farmers, led by Bharti Kisan Union Doaba president Manjit Singh Rai and secretary Satnam Singh Sahni, gathered at the new Dana Mandi Hoshiarpur Road at 11 am and then took out a protest march and staged a dharna outside the sugar mill gate.
Addressing the protest, Manjit Singh Rai, Satnam Singh Sahni, Kripal Singh Musapur and Gurpal Singh Pal said that the Phagwara sugar mill owes them about Rs 27 crore for the last five years.
He said that the agreement to pay the dues of the farmers was made by the new owner of Phagwara Sugar Mill Rana Gurjeet Singh and his son in the presence of the state Agriculture Minister, but even after five months, the dues of the farmers have not been paid. The farmers have not been paid.
Farmer leaders said that like before, these new mill owners are also violating the promises made to the farmers and the farmers' dues are not being paid. They said that the Punjab government and the civil administration of Phagwara are not serious about auctioning the mill properties.