Thousands of farmers growing sunflower seeds staged a protest in India's northern state of Haryana on Tuesday, demanding state government honor its promise of a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of 6,400 Indian rupees (about 77.50 U.S. dollars) per quintal (100 kilograms) for their agricultural produce.

Alleging that they were suffering a loss of 600 Indian Rupees per quintal, the protesting farmers blocked the National Highway No. 44 connecting Delhi with Haryana's capital city of Chandigarh.

The protests were mainly held in the Ambala and Kurukshetra areas of Haryana, from where the local administration diverted the traffic to alternate routes.

According to the farmers, the state government had promised them a MSP of 6,400 Indian rupees per quintal, but now it was offering them 5,800 Indian rupees per quintal only. (1 Indian rupee equals 0.012 U.S. dollar)