Thousands of farmers from different parts of Uttar Pradesh began a march to Delhi on Saturday to raise various demands including payment of dues for sugarcane, loan waiver and free electricity supply.
News agency ANI reported that paramilitary forces have been deployed on the route of the march. The farmers plan to march to the Kisan Ghat in Delhi from the Ghazipur border on NH-24. The farmers warned they would hold a hunger strike if the government did not meet their demands following the march to Delhi.
Puran Singh, national president of the Indian Farmers Organisation, was quoted by ANI as saying, "After our negotiations with Agriculture Ministry officials failed, we are left with only this option of marching to Delhi to draw attention towards our demands."
The march comes even as the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday set a deadline of October 31 for sugar mills to clear dues of sugarcane growers.
Suresh Rana, the state's minister for sugarcane development and sugarcane mills, told mediapersons in Shamli the government wanted mills to settle dues before the crushing season began. He warned if the mills did not pay the dues, the farmers would be given recovery certificates and would be paid by selling sugar from godowns.
On Wednesday, the Allahabad High Court directed the state government to clear dues of sugarcane growers on a plea by two farmers who said that they had grown the crop after taking loans from banks but they were not in a position to repay on account of the non-payment of their dues.
In Muzaffarnagar alone, an official said six sugar mills owed farmers Rs 318.13 crore.