Farmers force closure of Reliance stores in Ludhiana mall

Farmers said they will continue protesting until the farm laws are revoked by the government.

Up in arms against the new central farm laws, farmers’ protest on Sunday led to the forced closure of six Reliance stores in a mall at Ludhiana-Ferozepur road near the octroi post.

Farmers protesting against the farm bills inside MBD Mall in Ludhiana on Sunday. (Harsimar Pal Singh/HT)

Protesters in the state have been targeting corporate houses in the past, accusing them of making inroads for the agriculture sector in connivance with the Union government.

Farmers said they will continue protesting until the farm laws are revoked by the government. They said they won’t allow Reliance and Adani stores in other malls and markets to open from Monday.

District president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU, Ekta) Ugrahan, Gurpreet Singh Noorpur said that at least 200 members of the association reached the mall and staged a peaceful protest. They held a meeting with the management of the mall and store owners and requested them to close down.

Noorpur said that they have asked mall officials to give them in writing that they would not allow Reliance and Adani outlets in the mall to open till they continue protesting.

General secretary of BKU Saudagar Singh Ghudani said that from Monday they will close down outlets of Reliance and Adani in other malls and markets as well.

Assistant commissioner of police (ACP, west) Gurpreet Singh said that even though farmer unions are protesting peacefully, a heavy police force was deputed at the mall to avoid any untoward incident.