Many Ghazipur Farmers Return To Villages In UP But Only Till Sugarcane Planting Season Lasts
As sugarcane planting season is set to begin in Uttar Pradesh villages, a number of protesters from Ghazipur have left for their homes, while those left behind insist this is temporary and the protest will return to its former size once planting is over.
A langar started by Kar Sewa, Amritsar currently feeds around 4,000-5,000 protesters. 28-year-old Kamaldeep Singh, a farmer from Muzaffarnagar, who volunteers at the langar, told The Indian Express, ¡°Earlier, around 15,000-16,000 people would come to eat here.¡±?
"Farmers have left tractors, ration behind"
¡°The weather has changed and people are preparing for summer. Many have also returned to their villages so they can attend mahapanchayats. However, many have left behind their tractors; their ration. They keep coming back and the numbers keep fluctuating.¡±
Harpreet Singh (35), a farmer from Lakhimpur Kheri district, said many people from his village are going to arrive at the site in the next few days. ¡°I am also going back for the mahapanchayat. It is important to attend because many important things are discussed there, such as the future of this protest."?
"If I go back, five others from my village will come"
Another 23-year-old farmer Navjot Singh, who is from the same district, said he might have to go to his village to help his family plant sugarcane. ¡°If I go back, five others from my village will come to the site,¡± he declared.?
Police posted at the border said the number of protesters has decreased in the last 10 days. They pointed out that the protest site currently spans over 1.5-2 km. The area in front of the UP Gate police chowki, which was previously packed with tents and trolleys, now has a handful of tents in patches.The stores at the border see fewer customers too.?
Farmers prepping for summers
Tijender Singh (27), a volunteer at a general store started by Farmer Sewa Society, said, ¡°Most people have gone back for a few days because of the panchayats in their villages. They will all return and in larger numbers.¡±Farmers added that many have returned home as they are preparing for the change in season.?
While some are expected to return to the protest site with fans for their tents, others are getting coolers and generators.A volunteer at a langar received a deep freezer from a well-wisher on Monday morning. He said the site will soon be festooned with coolers and more such freezers to store water, milk and other perishables.
Sugarcane is a crop grown more in Uttar Pradesh, not sold in mandis and, moreover, has a state advised price (SAP) that is statutory. Unlike MSP, sugar mills are legally bound to pay it. Most farmers protesting at Ghazipur on the Delhi-UP border ¡ª as against those camping at Singhu and Tikri bordering Haryana ¡ª are sugarcane growers.?
Sugarcane, a flashpoint at Ghazipur protest
But not withstanding the legal requirement for mills to pay SAP within 14 days of cane delivery, many haven¡¯t received money even for the crop they supplied in the 2019-20 sugar season (October-September). And the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government is yet to announce the current season¡¯s SAP, despite mills undertaking crushing operations since end-October.
UP mills, as of January 5, owe farmers Rs 2,470 crore out of the Rs 35,898 crore SAP value of cane that they crushed in the 2019-20 season. They have further crushed 363.20 lakh tonnes of cane in the current season, which is worth about Rs 11,660 crore at last year¡¯s SAP of Rs 315/quintal for general and Rs 325/quintal for early-maturing varieties. Of the Rs 11,660 crore, they have paid just Rs 2,427 crore as on date.?
To sum it up, non-payment of last season¡¯s dues and no SAP being declared for 2020-21, with more than two months of crushing over, can emerge as a potential flashpoint in the ongoing farmers¡¯ agitation.
