Akhilesh slams Yogi govt over cane arrears

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the Bharatiya Janata Party government in UP of meting out step-motherly treatment to cane farmers who were being exploited by the sugar industry.

Akhilesh said that despite legal provisions that if payments were made after 14 days of buying sugarcane, interest on the money would by paid by the buyer, sugar mills were not paying interest to the farmers.

Accusing the state government of being anti -farmer, the SP chief said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath only issued periodical warnings to sugar industry and the government seemed to have been confined to the state secretariat at Lok Bhawan.

Akhilesh Yadav said that even though the crushing season had started, the government was yet to announce State Advisory Price (SAP) of sugarcane.

He said that during the five years of Samajwadi Party rule, not only was SAP hiked by over Rs 40 per quintal, it was announced with the commencement of the crushing season.
The SP chief alleged that cane farmers were losing patience and in many districts, farmers had staged protests and burnt their sugarcane.