PESHAWAR: Sugarcane growers held a protest rally outside a sugar mill on Charsadda Road here on Thursday and demanded increase of sugarcane price up to Rs190 per 40kg. They asked the government to resolve the issue within 24 hours otherwise the farmers would again block the road on Friday (today).

The protest was led by former MPA Abdur Rehman Khan Kafordheri, Arbab Jameel Ahmed, Fazlullah Khan Daudzai and others. They were holding banners and placards inscribed with demands for solution to their demands.

The protest also caused a traffic jam on the busy thoroughfare at least for an hour, but the protesters dispersed after assurance by the local administration and MPA Jahandad Khan that the issues would be resolved at the earliest.

Speaking on the occasion the farmers’ leaders said that in Sindh and Punjab provinces sugar mill owners had already implemented a decision of the Supreme Court and started payment from Rs180 to 190 per 40kg sugarcane, while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the millers were not ready to comply with the court order.

They pointed out that the millers in Dera Ismail Khan had also agreed to pay Rs173.5 per 40kg to the farmers but in Peshawar, Mardan and Charsadda the mill owners were not paying attention to farmers’ demands.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2019