SWABI: Tobacco growers have threatened to launch demonstrations from Wednesday (today) and set on fire their crop in protest against apathy of the purchasing companies and the government.

The decision was taken at a meeting of Kasthkar Coordination Council (KCC) here. The participants threatened that if their demands were not met until Aug 24 they would set on fire their crop at the Karnal Sher Khan Chowk in the district headquarters.

They decided to hold a protest meeting at Jalsai village in Chota Lahor on Wednesday, followed by another meeting at Yar Hussain on Thursday and the final protest was planned at Karnal Sher Khan Chowk on Aug 24.

The participants said their main demands were: all production of Flue-cured Virginia (FCV) should be purchased by the companies at a reasonable price. They said the KCC leaders had estimated that the total production of the FCV this year was 75 million kilogramme but the companies announced quota through Pakistan Tobacco Board at 46.125 million kg.

They said it seemed that about 30 million FCV would turn surplus and once the crop became surplus it lost its value and the companies purchased the same from the growers at throwaway price.

Briefing media after the meeting, Liaqat Yousafzai, the KCC general secretary, said the small companies had stopped purchasing because the federal government had imposed Rs5 per kilogramme sales tax.

Meanwhile, leaders of Kisan Board (KB), a grouping of farmers affiliated with Jamaat-i-Islami, in a press conference on Tuesday warned the growers should not be forced to agitate and the companies should purchase their whole production.

They said if their demand was not met within a week they would hold a sit-in outside the deputy commissioner office.

KB district president Khalid Khan said they would announce setting on fire their crop at the sit-in.

OFFICE-BEARERS NAMED: Fazal Rahim and Nadar Khan returned unopposed for the year 2017-18 as president and general secretary of Gadoon Industrial Association (GIA), during a meeting of the entrepreneurs’ body on Tuesday.

Anwar Zadan was nominated senior vice-president and Umar Gul Jadoon vice-president. The meeting also nominated members of the executive committee of the association.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2017