Chandigarh: Punjab farmers, protesting the AAP government's failure to implement an agriculture policy since Sunday, will march towards the state Assembly today. Thousands of farmers and farm labourers, belonging to the Bharti Kisan Union-BKU (Ugrahan) and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a group of 37 unions, have been camping here. Farmers belonging to the BKU (Ugrahan) will march towards the Punjab Legislative Assembly, which is assembling on Monday for the three-day long monsoon session, to lodge their protest.
BKU (Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said the farmers would march towards the Vidhan Sabha to hand over a memorandum of their demands to the Chief Minister and Opposition leaders. A meeting that lasted three hours was held between the administration and the union leaders earlier today to stop the march, but no consensus could be reached.
Meanwhile, farmers belonging to the SKM, who also gathered along with the BKU (Ugrahan) at the protest site at Sector 34 ground, the city’s hub, will hold a ‘mahapanchayat’ later in the day. The protesters have been allowed to stage protests at the camping site. The farmers are expected to camp here till September 5 after which they decide future course of action. Besides implementing agriculture policy, the demands of the BKU (Ugrahan) include overcoming the delay in land distribution to landless labourers and farmers and debt waiver for them.
Contractual employees’ unions will also be joining these rallies. A faction of the Democratic Teachers’ Front will also join to support the “Kheti Niti Morcha”.
“We have been demanding promotion of chemical-free crops, compensation to the families of farmers who committed suicide, and curbing the drugs problem in the state,” Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union general secretary Lachhman Singh Sewewala told the media.
To avoid traffic jams and related obstacles, the Chandigarh Police has issued an advisory asking people to avoid certain routes.
