Protesting against currency ban, Surat farmers threaten to stop supplies

Surat: Farmers took out a protest rally in Surat on Saturday against the Reserve Bank's decision not to allow exchange or deposit of defunct notes at the district central co-operative banks and warned of stopping supply to Amul Milk co-operative if the restriction is not lifted in a week.

Protesters on around 150 tractors and 100-odd trucks loaded with grain and sugarcane covered the 10-km stretch from Jehangirpura to the collector's office in Surat.

They dumped grain and milk on the road outside the collector's office.

Farmer leader and president of Dakshin Gujarat Khedut Samaj Jayesh Patel said the ban had hit the farmers badly. If this restriction was not lifted in seven days farmers will stop supply of milk to the Amul milk co-operative, he warned.

"Most farmers have accounts with district co-operative banks which are not accepting defunct currency notes, causing immense hardship," Mr Patel said.

"We have submitted a memorandum to the collector demanding that the ban should be lifted in another seven days or we will stop supplying milk to Amul," said Mr Patel, also a former chairman of Surat District Co-operative Milk Producer's Union Limited (Sumul).

Surat Congress president Hasmukh Desai also took part in the rally with the party backing the protest.