Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) activists called off their stir on Saturday evening after meeting two retired IPS officers who managed to broker an agreement between the protesters and the Bathinda district administration. Union members were holding a protest near Dunewala against police action. On Friday, the activists had forcibly tried to take back land acquired for the Amritsar-Jamnagar expressway. Union activists were demanding enhanced compensation to villagers whose land had been acquired. Union president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said that there demand to suspend work until fair compensation is given to farmers has been met by the administration. “Our district unit will work with authorities to redress the grievances of farmers,” he told reporters.
Deputy commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray said that the delegation of the farmer union was told that work on the acquired land would be stopped for a few days only.
“They were assured that the arbitrators would be urged to expedite pleas of the farmers to grant higher compensation. Acquired land cannot be given back to villagers as full compensation has been paid. We assured to address the grievances of farmers as per rules,” the DC said.