From the fields to the mills, the farmers of western UP are only waiting a long time to weigh sugarcane.

As thousands of farmers laid siege to the Delhi border for 100 days as three farmers sought to repeal the farm laws, those back in western Uttar Pradesh had to wait a different kind of time – for several days. Many times, sugarcane lying in tractor-trolleys on the way from the fields to the mills just to be weighed.

Some spend their time chit-chatting about the ongoing protests, while others smoke beedi or cigarettes, but all of them remain concerned about the load of sugarcane in the scorching sun, while Punjabi and Haryanvi songs on their mobiles Either they keep playing loudly. Or small speakers mounted in their vehicles.

Also, apart from the three laws that have been in the limelight due to the protests on the borders of the national capital, the problems for them are immense.

Barely two kilometers from the Dhampur sugar mill – about a hundred tractor-trolleys near the Bhopada weighing scale at Budhana tehsil in Muzaffarnagar, each carrying an average of 300 quintals of sugarcane. ‘Weights’ halt after weights and their carrier days.

Some drivers, many of them smallholder landholding farmers, even have gold on planks placed under their ‘trolls’ (customized and large trolleys used to transport sugarcane).

Rohit Balyan, a resident of Kutba, says, “It has been two days since I am waiting on this scale and it looks like I will take another two days to do my work so that I can get my stock to the sugar mill.” I can go Village, told PTI.

21-year-old Balyan said, “The long-term wait on the scales hurts farmers because the weight of sugarcane starts to dry under sunlight and the weight is slightly reduced by the time it comes to measurement.” Borrowed a cigarette from a friend waiting ahead in the queue.

A sugar mill official in Muzaffarnagar, widely known as the ‘sugar bowl’ of India and also has Asia’s largest jaggery market (jaggery market), PTI The weight loss is only a few kilograms during the waiting time, but the farmers argue that this loss means a lot to them as their earnings are reduced by thousands of rupees.

However, the mill owners blamed the farmers for growing the sugarcane crop beyond the daily consumption capacity of the mills for delay in weighing the crop and also for lack of weighing facilities in the area. They also claim that sugar production from the region is often in surplus to market demand and therefore they do not have enough incentive to increase their processing facilities.

Farmers also claim to have sugar mills. Sugarcane is procured at 325 per quintal, which is lower than the minimum support price (MSP) of the government. 385.

He said, ‘We are not getting MSP and then we have to wait here on the scale of weighing. Sugarcane starts drying after a couple of days and this means a loss in weight and money for us.

25-year-old Mr. Tomar said that he is standing in queue with sugarcane in his family’s 27 bighas of land.

Those waiting on the waiting scale include those who do not own land, but are engaged in transporting sugarcane from farms to sugar mills after receiving yields on weighing scales.

For them too, loss of time during the peak work season means loss of money.

Mukem, a 35-year-old Harsoli village resident, said that he uses his tractor-trola for transport work like many others in the region, who are usually paid about ₹ 12 per quintal of sugarcane from the mills.

“I have been standing here for three days. I have been loaded with more than 300 quintals of sugarcane on my trolley. If we measure it quickly, I can circle more and make more money, ”said Mr. Mukem.

He is also angry over an order from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which calls for phasing out the old tractors in the National Capital Region (NCR). Muzaffarnagar, which flourishes on sugarcane production, is among the areas affected by this order.

“We should phase our tractors only because they are 15 or 20 years old. They are working fine for us. In the last 10 years, the price of diesel has increased rapidly. The rate we get for transportation is still the same but no one is bothered about these issues.

While waiting for two days on the weight scale, Raju Tyagi, 23, from Oshika village and Salim, 23, from Kethal village, both strongly support the farmers’ demand for a legal guarantee on the MSP and repeal all three. Controversial Agricultural Laws.

Sugarcane transportation is a seasonal task for both Mr. Tyagi and Mr. Saleem and is troubled by long delays in weighing.

“I hope that one day the government will consider our issues as well,” Mr. Salim said.

According to estimates by the Muzaffarnagar administration, over 40% of the district’s population topped the charts in agriculture with sugarcane cultivation.

Sugar mill officials say that the problem associated with sugarcane cultivation in the region is due to the surplus yield of sugarcane and limited production capacity of the mills.

“There are eight sugar mills in Muzaffarnagar alone. A sugar mill official said that Khatauli is the largest in western Uttar Pradesh and its procurement capacity is 1,30,000 quintals a day.

“The farmers of the region mostly grow sugarcane and wheat. While wheat is mostly grown for private consumption, they sell sugarcane to the mills because of the MSP on it. This is causing sugar to go into surplus, resulting in various problems related to it, ”the official said.

One of the measures to check these problems could be a government-driven policy only, the official suggested, adding that there should be an upper limit for sugarcane cultivation.

“The farmers here are growing sugarcane on 90% of their land. If 60% more farmers are asked to grow other crops also, then the solution can be found. PTI.