Mohali: Farmers’ bodies hold protest on Burail Jail Road, seek action against Land Mortgage Bank

Mohali and Chandigarh Police stopped the farmers at the border and arranged a meeting between their leaders and the registrar, Cooperative Bank

Hundreds of farmers under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ekta Sidhupur marched from Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali towards the office of the registrar, Cooperative Societies, Punjab, in Chandigarh on Monday, demanding justice for farmers allegedly affected by the functioning of the Land Mortgage Bank.

Farmers’ unions protesting at the Mohali- Chandigarh border on Monday. (Sanjeev Sharma/HT)

The protest was organised in connection with the deaths of two brothers from Hari Nau village in Faridkot district, who, according to union leaders, died by suicide after facing coercive recovery proceedings by the Faridkot Land Mortgage Bank. The farmers’ organisations also sought action over alleged irregularities in the bank’s operations and demanded the return of blank cheques allegedly obtained from borrowers.

Mohali and Chandigarh Police stopped the farmers at the border and arranged a meeting between their leaders and the registrar, Cooperative Bank.

Addressing the gathering, BKU Ekta Sidhupur president Jagjit Singh Dallewal said, “The union had been staging protests outside the Faridkot Land Mortgage Bank since March 30 and at several other locations across Punjab since May 11. But since nobody from authority paid heed to our issue, farmers had to come to Mohali.”

The committee is also expected to investigate allegations regarding the retention of blank cheques and recommend action where irregularities are found.