Farmers hold sit-in in Sangrur; threaten to intensify protest

The union has been demanding cancellation of the India-US trade deal and scrapping of Punjab’s land pooling policy, ownership rights to tenant farmers, financial relief and jobs for families of suicide victims, a complete waiver of agricultural loans for farmers and labourers, cancellation of all police cases and stubble-burning FIRs registered against farmers

Farmers associated with Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) marched from outside the deputy commissioner’s (DC) office to Sangrur-Barnala chowk on Thursday and staged a 30-minute sit-in protest, blocking the road to agitate against the alleged behaviour of the administration and governments.

Karamjit Kaur Bhindran, a local union leader said they have been on a “pakka morcha” for four days, since they started their protest on August 30. (HT file)

Karamjit Kaur Bhindran, a local union leader said they have been on a “pakka morcha” for four days, since they started their protest on August 30. She said this is a signal to the Sangrur DC: If she does not arrange washroom facilities and lights, the union will take strict action and further intensify the protest. She stated that four of their demands are for the central government, and the rest are for the Punjab government. If India enters a free trade agreement with the US, then it may affect the jobs of people as they will have nothing to do anymore, she added.

The union has been demanding cancellation of the India-US trade deal and scrapping of Punjab’s land pooling policy, ownership rights to tenant farmers, financial relief and jobs for families of suicide victims, a complete waiver of agricultural loans for farmers and labourers, cancellation of all police cases and stubble-burning FIRs registered against farmers.

Other demands include a reduction in the prices of oil, gas and diesel; reducing the tax burden on the poor, higher taxes on big companies and landlords; and stopping the sale of government properties.

They are also seeking a law to guarantee minimum support price (MSP) with C2+50% pricing formula on all crops and implementation of the public distribution system (PDS) with cheap rations.