FAISALABAD: Sugarcane growers on Tuesday threatened to go on a hunger strike if earliest payments for their production were not made at the government-fixed price.
Kissan Board’s Divisional President Ali Ahmed Goraya and Farmer-Labour Ittihad President Muhammad Subhan Gill, in their statements, said that the Punjab government had fixed Rs180 per 40-kg as the sugarcane purchase price, but the sugar mills in the Faisalabad division were not paying the same to the farmers.
They said that many sugar mills were delaying the payments by using different tactics, and claimed that some had even issued purchase receipts to sugarcane growers at the rate of Rs180 per 40-kg, but now were forcing them to receive Rs140-150 per 40-kg.
They also said that most mills had closed crushing and stopped payments to the farmers, which was very disappointing.
