Mohali:
The latest hike in diesel prices has left farmers in Punjab a worried lot. They now fear that the steep hike will increase their production costs, and will have its cascading effect on the markets.
On Thursday, the government raised the price of diesel by Rs. 5 per litre, a move that has been opposed by both allies and opposition. It is the second such hike in the last two years.
Over 70 per cent farmland in Punjab depends on artificial irrigation. Most of the farmers in the state use tractors to plough their field and generators run on diesel for irrigation. Farmers say the hike will increase the input costs up to 2000 rupees per acre on an average.
Satwant Singh, a small-time farmer from Mohali, says, "It will get more expensive and this would have an effect on the farmer". Fearing that rising costs will put additional burden, the farmers now want an increase in the minimum support price for their products to evade debt crisis.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has criticised the Centre for the "unwarranted and steep" increase in price of diesel and demanded an immediate rollback. He said the hike would be a fatal blow to the agriculture sector as the farming was no longer a profitable venture due to the massive hike in agricultural inputs.
On Thursday, the government raised the price of diesel by Rs. 5 per litre, a move that has been opposed by both allies and opposition. It is the second such hike in the last two years.
Over 70 per cent farmland in Punjab depends on artificial irrigation. Most of the farmers in the state use tractors to plough their field and generators run on diesel for irrigation. Farmers say the hike will increase the input costs up to 2000 rupees per acre on an average.
Satwant Singh, a small-time farmer from Mohali, says, "It will get more expensive and this would have an effect on the farmer". Fearing that rising costs will put additional burden, the farmers now want an increase in the minimum support price for their products to evade debt crisis.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has criticised the Centre for the "unwarranted and steep" increase in price of diesel and demanded an immediate rollback. He said the hike would be a fatal blow to the agriculture sector as the farming was no longer a profitable venture due to the massive hike in agricultural inputs.
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