LAHORE: Farmers have announced a begging march on the provincial metropolis on Nov 27 against, what they call, stepmotherly treatment being meted out to the agriculture sector.

The Kissan Kashkol (begging bowl) March will begin from Lahore on Nov 27 and beg from motorists on The Mall for meeting their crop expenses and then in Islamabad Super Market on Nov 28, says Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar.

He said the farmers would also not pay their tube-well electricity bills for not being offered flat Rs5 per unit facility.

Demands of the farmers will include Rs300 per 40kg increase in wheat support price, payment of Rs25,000 per acre to cotton and maize growers whose yield dropped by 40 per cent owing to climate change and poor quality seed, restoring fertilizers prices to the last year level, provision of diesel at half the market rate, fixing sugarcane indicative price at Rs250 per 40kg against Rs180 per 40kg last year.

Mr Khokhar said PKI members would burn electricity bills on Nov 20 in front of press clubs at district level.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2019