Farmers block national highway near Shahabad on sunflower MSP issue

A large number of farmers on Tuesday afternoon blocked the national highway near Kurukshetra's Shahabad, demanding that government should procure sunflower seed at the MSP.

The farmers blocked the Delhi-Chandigarh NH near Shahbad after a call was given by BKU (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni.

The protesting farmers claimed that the government was not buying sunflower seeds at the minimum support price, and as a result, they were forced to sell their produce to private buyers at around Rs 4,000 per quintal against Rs 6,400 MSP.

Charuni said the government should procure the sunflower seeds at the MSP of Rs 6,400 per quintal.

The protesters said they had given the government time till Monday, but their demand was not heeded.

The farmers gathered at the protest site and crossed police barricades and blocked the NH, with some bringing their vehicles laden with sunflower seeds.

Police had to divert traffic through other routes and link routes after the protesters blocked the highway.

There was heavy police deployment near the site where farmers had blocked the highway.

"Till the time government does not accept our demand, our protest will continue," Charuni told reporters at the protest site.

The protesters said they are against the government's move to include sunflower seed in the Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana, under which they said the government will pay a fixed compensation of Rs 1,000 per quintal against the produce sold below MSP.

They demanded that the sunflower seeds should be procured at MSP.

Opposition Congress has also targeted the state government on the sunflower issue.

"Sunflower farmers are waiting for Minimum Support Price and facing a loss of Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500 per quintal (by selling to private traders), but the government is talking of giving Bhavantar and is running away from their responsibility of giving MSP.

"One by one, crops on which MSP is given are also being linked with Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana, which does not benefit the farmers," senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda had recently said.