CHANDIGARH: Halting the wheels of Punjab and Haryana for four hours, the full might of farmers was behind Thursday's road blockade against the central agri-marketing laws.
On the call of the All-India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) of 200 farm unions, the Punjab front of 31 peasant outfits and many women occupied the national and state highways, accusing the central government of exposing their land to corporate invasion and paying no heed to their 45-day protest. The next call is for a Delhi march on November 26-27.
Bathinda artists, writers, employees, and students joined the blockade at some places on the Chandigarh and Amritsar highways. Traffic diversions didn't help the commuters. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan said: “The protests will continue until the central government either withdraws the legislations or submits a written guarantee of minimum support price (MSP). Without winning the farmers’ confidence, it can't hope to double the farm income by 2022.”
AIKSCC national working group members Darshan Pal and Jagmohan Singh said corporate contract farming will turn farmers into landless labourers.
Doaba farmers sealed off the national highway at Phagwara's Sugar Mill Chowk, Jalandhar's PAP intersection, and many other points in the region. The Patiala farmers took over the toll barriers to close state borders with Haryana, with help from the other side.
BKU (Ekta Dakaunda) general secretary Jagmohan Singh Patiala said: “We had 30 farm unions on 13 sites." Kokri Kalan of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) said: "Our Patiala group blocked the road traffic at Niyal and Rajpura, while the Sangrur group sealed off Ladda, Kalajhar, Monak, Cheema, and Dirhba. We are a separate farm union coordinating with others."
The Karnal agiationists of BKU (Charuni) blocked National Highway-44 near Raipur Roran village from noon to 4, joined by the farmers from Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, and Ambala. Link roads had to be opened. The protesters were served langar (food out of the community kitchen) at the sit-in venues. Police and duty magistrates were out to maintain law and order. Farm unionist Gurnam Singh Charuni said: “The agitation is not limited to Haryana and Punjab. It is countrywide. The Haryana farmers will march into Delhi on November 26 and 27 after planning it out in Kurukshetra on November 12. They want a debt waiver as well.”
The Hisar farmers plan to gherao the Haryana chief minister's residence in Karnal on November 9. On Thursday, they put up barriers at Sarsaud and Kalirawan villages of Adampur area. District Kisan Sabha secretary Dharambir Kanwari condemned the central ordinance for fine and jail term over stubble-burning. He said: "Diversionary tactics won't make farmers forget their demands for debt relief and the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report. We also oppose the Electricity Amendment Bill of 2020 for the privatisation of energy."
District Kisan Sabha head Shamsher Numberdar and Adampur executive president Narshotam Major were present. Uklana tehsil Kisan Sabha secretary Dayanand Dhukia led the Sarsaud blockade.
Jind farmers blocked the Karnal road, besides the Patiala highway at Data Singhwala village, where Swaraj India party chief Yogendra Yadav accused the Union government of being confrontationist. He said: "New laws will push black marketing, as corporate giants tend to hoard. Whenever the Prime Minister claims to do something historic, people get nervous out of the painful experience of ‘notebandi’ (demonetisation), desh-bandi (lockdown), and now kisan gherabandi (farm laws). Leaders open projects but Narendra Modi must be the first leader who is closing down everything.”