By IANS,
Lucknow: Agitated over the prices of sugarcane set by the government, farmers Thursday disrupted rail traffic, blocked a national highway and clashed with the police in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district, officials said.
Shouting anti-government slogans, farmers squatted on the rail tracks and stopped a couple of trains in Moradabad, over 300 km from Lucknow, they added.
Protesting the pricing policy of the central and the state governments for sugarcane, angry farmers also blockaded the Delhi-Lucknow NH-24 for hours and pelted stones at police. However, no one was seriously injured in the incidents.
“We had to make hectic efforts to pacify farmers and clear the railway tracks,” police inspector Ajay Sotiya told reporters in Moradabad.
“Angry farmers also tried to target heavy vehicles on the road. However, our timely intervention prevented any untoward incident from taking place,” he added.
The central government has announced a price of Rs.129.85 per quintal for sugarcane during the 2009-10 crushing season under the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) system, while the State Advisory Price (SAP) has been set between Rs.165 and Rs.170 per quintal.
In case a state government fixes SAP higher than the FRP, it will have to pay the difference.
Farmers want Rs.280 per quintal for their produce.
Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh has already said opposition parties would not allow the government to pass the pending FRP Ordinance in parliament, and that his supporters will lay siege to Parliament House Nov 19, when its winter session is scheduled to start.