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Punjab: Farmers stir outside DCs offices to protest slow procurement
In Bathinda, members of the SKM sat near the main entrance of the DAC whereas volunteers Ekta Ugrahan staged a sit-in near the camp office of the deputy commissioner, next to the DAC complex from 11 am to 3 pm to protest the slow procurement of non-basmati crops in the state.
Farmers under the banner of Punjab unit of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) held protests outside the offices of deputy commissioners in Bathinda, Patiala and jalandhar for four hours over delayed paddy lifting and supply of DAP fertiliser for wheat sowing.
In Bathinda, members of the SKM sat near the main entrance of the DAC whereas volunteers Ekta Ugrahan staged a sit-in near the camp office of the deputy commissioner, next to the DAC complex from 11 am to 3 pm to protest the slow procurement of non-basmati crops in the state.
General secretary of the Ekta Ugrahan faction Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan said that the union also extended support to the call of protest given by the SKM. Kokri Kalan said the union activists burnt the effigies of prime minister Narendra Modi and the corporate sector in Bathinda to protest the policies that are against the interests of the farmers and farm workers.
Indefinite protests against the tardy procurement by the Ekta Ugrahan entered their 13th day today. The union is staging a protest at 52 spots across the state at the toll plazas and outside the residences of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators and the senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).
Jangvir Singh Chouhan, a senior SKM leader said they have been protesting ever since the start of paddy procurement season as the farmers were bearing the brunt of poor policies and arrangements made by the state and centre governments.
Another SKM activist Santokh Singh Sandhu said the arrangements of required storage in the godowns needed to be done two or three months before the start of paddy season.
“Now, the government is making lame excuses for not being able to streamline the paddy procurement season. Why should farmers face such issues every time and are left to protest for fulfilment of their demands,” he said.
