Rohtak, Sept. 1 -- Farmers associated with the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) will hold a kisan mahapanchayat on September 3 to press the government to increase the sugarcane price to Rs.600 per quintal and begin paddy procurement from September 15. The mahapanchayat will be held in state agriculture minister Shyam Singh Rana's constituency of Radaur in Yamunanagar, with farmer leaders calling upon growers to participate in large numbers. Farmers argue that higher input costs have made the existing sugarcane price inadequate. Farmer leader Gurnam Singh Charuni said the sugarcane price should be increased to Rs.600 per quintal immediately from Rs.415 per quintal for early-maturing varieties and Rs.408 per quintal for late-maturing varieties. Charuni also questioned criticism over rising sugar prices, saying the media and others had remained silent when potatoes and onions were being sold for around Rs.1 per kg and when sugarcane prices had not been increased for several years. Charuni said meetings were being held with farmers at sugar mills in Gohana and Sonepat to mobilise support for the demands. Agriculture minister Shyam Singh Rana has already hinted at a hike in sugarcane prices for the upcoming crushing season. "If the price of sugar has increased, the price of sugarcane will also increase," he said recently. The State Advised Price (SAP) for sugarcane in neighbouring Punjab is Rs.416 per quintal for the 2025-26 crushing season, the highest in the country....