Phagwara: The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Doaba) on Wednesday announced plans to stage a protest from Aug 20, demanding the release of pending cane dues, including Rs 27.8 crore owed to farmers by the Phagwara sugar mill from the 2021-22 crushing season.Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, union president Manjit Singh Rai alleged that cooperative sugar mills in the state had imposed an unjustified penalty of Rs 41.6 per quintal on cane growers, even though payments were not released within the prescribed timeframe and cane production had been hit by adverse weather.Rai and other union leaders said they would take up the issue with the Kapurthala deputy commissioner on Aug 10. If their demands remain unresolved, they will launch a protest after holding a farmers’ meeting at Phagwara Dana Mandi on Aug 20.
