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Punjab: 25 toll plazas, highways closed over ‘tardy’ paddy procurement
Protest outside houses of Punjab ministers, MLAs and BJP leaders to begin on Friday, says Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan).
Angered over the “slow” paddy procurement and lifting of grains from mandis, farmer unions shut 25 toll plazas for an indefinite period and also blocked highways and roads across the state for hours on Thursday.
The toll plazas were shut in 14 districts, said Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan). He said dharnas at the toll booths were for an indefinite period as the state government had “failed” to address the hardship being faced by the rice growers.
Ugrahan said the union has also decided to stage sit-ins from tomorrow outside the residences of the state ministers and MLAs of the ruling AAP apart from senior leaders of the BJP in Punjab till the time the paddy procurement process improves.
According to information, a maximum of four toll plazas on the national highway in Bathinda’s Lehra Bega, Balluana, Jeeda and Shekhpura were disrupted. Similarly, farmers did not allow toll operators to collect highway user charges at three places each in Tarn Taran and Amritsar.
In Patiala, the Dhareri Jattan toll plaza on the Patiala-Chandigarh national highway was blocked for over four hours. Similarly, the Sangrur-Patiala road was obstructed near Channo village in the Bhawanigarh block of Sangrur district. Hundreds of commuters were caught in long traffic jams due to protests at multiple points in Patiala and Sangrur. In some areas, verbal altercations occurred between commuters and farmers, prompting police intervention to prevent clashes.
In Phillaur, where the highway was blocked for over five hours, huge traffic jam was seen on both sides. Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh said the traffic was diverted to links roads and other state highways.
Amrik Singh, district president of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Qadian), said the Central government should revise the permissible moisture limit from 17% to 22%. He added that the government forced the farmers to sow controversial PR-126 variety of paddy and now it is reluctant to purchase it.
“It is the responsibility of the state government to resolve the issues of the commission agents and rice millers regarding storage of PR-126 yield well before the start of the paddy procurement session,” he said.
The farmers lifted the protest after the district administration assured them of streamlining lifting process.
