Farmers to stage Rail Roko protest in Punjab's Gurdaspur on Feb 22

The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee has given a call for a 'rail roko' protest in Gurdaspur of Amritsar on February 22 over a series of issues pertaining to the farmers. The committee said thousands of farmers would stage the protest. Earlier, a similar protest was staged on January 29 and 30.

Amritsar: The farmers here will stage a 'rail roko' protest in Amritsar's Gurdaspur on February 22 to demand the payment of pending dues and other issues. The demands include payment of a fair and equal compensation for land that was acquired for the construction of a highway under the Bharatmala Yojana, payment of sugarcane dues and a compensation and jobs for the families of martyrs on the front lines.

Ahead of the protest, Punjab's Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee held a meeting with the Amritsar district committee to review the preparations for the 'rail roko' protest. The committee's state general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said thousands of farmers would participate in the 'rail roko' protest by riding trolley tractors on February 22. Preparations are going on in full swing, he said.

He further said that the government is acquiring land, and the tragedy is that the poor farmers have to now collect the money for their own lands by staging a protest.

Pandher accused the government of ignoring the assurances that were given during the protest march on January 29 and 30. "None of the demands were fulfilled till date. So, the organization has decided to fight for the rights of the people," he said.

He alleged that the Bhagwant Maan government has proved to be a hindrance when it comes to solving problems of the farmers. He demanded that the government resolve their issues as soon as possible as farmers are angry of being repeatedly ignored. If their demands are not met then the government will be responsible for the trouble that the common masseswill face, he said.