The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), Punjab, has threatened to block rail and road traffic at Dhanawali railway crossing in Jalandhar cantonment on November 20 if the state government fails to announce the sugarcane price and implement the ‘one counter, one payment’ system by November 18.
The SKM also announced it would organise rallies in Bathinda, Patiala, Jalandhar and Amritsar on November 26 as part of the nationwide programme announced by the farmers’ body to mark the anniversary of the Delhi farmers’ agitation.
The decision was taken at an SKM’s meeting in Ludhiana under the chairmanship of farmer leaders Harinder Singh Lakhowal, Balkaran Singh Brar and Gurmeet Singh Mahima on Tuesday. The leaders accused the Punjab government of going back on several assurances given to farmers and warned of intensifying the agitation if their demands remained unaddressed.
“The state government, during a meeting on September 6, had promised to introduce certain resolutions, particularly the repeal of Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, cancellation of previous agreements, withdrawal of the proposed seed and electricity bills, and rejection of the India-US trade agreement following SKM’s week-long protest in Chandigarh. However, not a single resolution had been introduced in the assembly,” the leaders alleged.
Lakhowal said the Centre had also given written assurances during the Delhi agitation regarding a legal guarantee for MSP on all crops, loan waivers for farmers and other demands, but these remained fulfilled.
{{/usCountry}}Lakhowal said the Centre had also given written assurances during the Delhi agitation regarding a legal guarantee for MSP on all crops, loan waivers for farmers and other demands, but these remained fulfilled.
{{/usCountry}}The meeting also condemned the registration of cases against farmers for stubble burning, arguing that the government had failed to make adequate arrangements for crop residue management.