Farmers fume over diesel price hikes, plan protests

Bathinda: A series of diesel price hikes, totalling Rs 7.5 per litre over the last 11 days, has left the farming community fuming, especially as they come at a time Punjab prepares for the intensive paddy transplantation season.The most recent increase of Rs 2.71 per litre on Monday follows a string of hikes earlier this month, including Rs 3 on May 15, Rs 0.90 on May 19, and Rs 0.91 on May 23. Balbir Singh Rajewal, president, BKU (Rajewal), said this massive hike is enough to overshadow every agricultural welfare scheme and will create a big hole in the pockets of farmers by increasing input costs. Punjab's agriculture sector is heavily dependent on fuel, accounting for nearly 50% of the state's total diesel consumption during the kharif season. The state's fleet of over 5 lakh tractors and approximately 1.5 lakh diesel-run tube wells are the main consumers. Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary, BKU (Lakhowal), asked why the govt claimed for so long that India would be unaffected by global crude oil fluctuations, only to increase prices once elections in five states had concluded. He warned farmer organisations are already planning protests to demand a rollback, a sentiment echoed by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, a group of hundreds of farmer groups from across the country. The price hike coincides with the Punjab govt's staggered plan for paddy transplantation. While direct seeding of rice (DSR) began on May 15, traditional puddling is set to start on June 1 in Gurdaspur, Amritsar, and Hoshiarpur districts. This will be followed by a second phase on June 5 in Bathinda and Ferozepur, and a final phase on June 9 in Ludhiana, Patiala, and Sangrur, among others. MSID:: 131307195 413 |