Farmers prepare for ‘chakka jam’

Farmers protest the agri laws at the Kartarpur station in Jalandhar. Photo: Malkiat Singh

Chandigarh, November 3

Amid the ongoing crisis over the suspension of goods trains, the 30 farm organisations have decided to intensify their stir, which entered the 34th day today. Across the state, farmer unions continued with their sit-ins at railway stations, outside private petrol pumps, toll plazas and businesses owned by corporate houses.

While at some places, crowds are dissipating as farmers take their paddy to the mandis and return to farms to sow wheat, there is no let-up in protests. In fact, union leaders are busy preparing for a “chakka jam” scheduled for Thursday.

State short on coal, fertilisers

State is short on coal for power plants; stares at shortage of urea, potash and DAP
4.50 lakh tonne DAP, 10 lakh tonne urea are stuck due to suspension of goods trains
1,100 containers of gunny bales (one bale has 500 bags) too are stranded

The call for protest was given by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Committee in Delhi last week, and all national highways across India will be blocked for a few hours. Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of the BKU (Dakaunda), said in Punjab, all state highways would be blocked between 12 noon and 4 pm.

The biggest farm union in the state, BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), would hold dharnas at 30 places on highways across 14 districts on Thursday, said Sukhdev Simgh Kokrikalan, general secretary of the union. Meanwhile, a meeting of union leaders with a delegation of Punjab ministers is scheduled on Wednesday, where the impact of the suspension of trains on the state economy will be discussed.

While the state is running woefully short on coal for state-owned and private power plants, it also stares at a shortage of urea, potash and DAP, needed for the sowing of wheat crop. Punjab needs 4.50 lakh tonne DAP and 10 lakh tonne urea before December 31, which is now stuck because of the suspension of goods trains. — TNS