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Punjab, Haryana farmers unhappy
with paddy prices

They are unhappy with the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday to freeze the MSP at previous year's level.

"Taking into account the wholesale price index and the rising cost of production, the MSP should have been at least Rs 760 per quintal (100 kg), but the Centre has retained it at Rs 530 per quintal," president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union Bhupinder Singh Mann told PTI.

He said the union has decided to commence a rail-roko agitation from Rajpura railway station on September 30 if the Centre fails to provide immediate relief to the farmers.

There have been over 600 cases of suicides by farmers in Punjab in the last five years and the situation is likely to deteriorate further, he said.

The farmers are not willing to accept the Rs 20/quintal bonus on the MSP recommended by the Commission on Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP). A Haryana-based farmer leader said it is a meagre amount compared to the exorbitant increase in the cost of production.

More reports from Punjab

More reports from Haryana

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