Farmers' Jalandhar highway blockade enters third day

November 24, 2023 01:04

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The highway blockade in Punjab's Jalandhar by the farmers who are demanding an increase in sugarcane prices entered its third day on Thursday.

Farmers led by Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba) are staging a 'dharna' in the middle of the Jalandhar-Phagwara section of the highway which has also affected traffic between Jalandhar and Delhi.

On Thursday, the farmers also blocked a section of the railway track near Dhanowali village in Jalandhar, which affected the train movement too, officials said.

Farmer leader Balwinder Singh had earlier said that they were forced to come out on roads by the state government which has still not announced the sugarcane prices, nor has started the cane crushing.

They said that the government had promised to resolve their issues on November 16 in a meeting but cancelled it a day before.

Farmers under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara section of the Jalandhar-New Delhi National Highway near Dhanowali village for an "indefinite period" on Tuesday.

The protest in Jalandhar has affected the movement of vehicles from Jammu, Pathankot, and Amritsar via Jalandhar towards Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Nawanshahr, and Delhi.

With police diverting traffic towards alternative roads, the commuters had a harrowing time crossing the part of the district.

The farmers, who are demanding an increase in the prices of sugarcane from Rs 380 per quintal to Rs 450 per quintal, have put up a tent in the middle of the road and spending the night on the highway. -- PTI

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