Labourers end protest after promised meeting with Punjab CM

Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee (ZPSC) president Mukesh Maloud said they concluded their protest after the administration assured them of meetings with the chief minister and finance minister

SANGRUR: The joint front of rural and farm labourers on Wednesday ended their protest after assurance of meeting chief minister Bhagwant Mann on October 3. Besides, the administration also fixed their meeting with finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on September 29.

Representational image.

Earlier in the morning, the protestors met the finance minister and later announced an end to their agitation. The labourers from across the state had been protesting near the CM’s residence here since Monday.

Their major demands included work for every family member under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA), ₹700 as minimum daily wages for all types of work, allotment of the third part of common panchayat land on lease to Dalits, possession of land allotted to Dalits, property rights to families living in ‘lal lakir’, grants for construction of houses and hike in pensions up to ₹5,000.

Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee (ZPSC) president Mukesh Maloud said they concluded their protest after the government assured them of meetings with the chief minister and finance minister.

“We will intensify our struggle if the government fails to fulfil our demands after these meetings,” Mukesh said.