Farmers protest

Farmers of Nawalparasi have been staging different forms of protest for the last three months demanding payment of sugarcane. With the payment still remaining due even after the cutting of sugarcane, they have now declared of launching an agitation. They have announced protest programmes ranging from obstruction of highway operation and hunger-strike. The farmers have cut their sugarcane one month in advance in the present situation. The factories that had bought their sugarcane have also halted the crushing process with the sugarcane running out of stock. However, farmers are still uncertain on how much their payment will be and when it will be paid. Though the government has assigned the responsibility of determining the sugarcane pricing to the Ministry of Industry, the farmers have been complaining of the Ministry not giving it much heed.