Farmers Movement Archive

‘Ready to sit for months’: Buzz on 100th day of Punjab protests

BATHINDA: The protest against the central agriculture marketing laws in Punjab completed 100 days on Friday. The protests on railway tracks, and at toll plazas and business establishments of some corporate houses, apart from the residences of BJP politicians, had started in the state on October 1. Even though the protests shifted to Delhi’s borders on November 26, the agitation in Punjab continues, reports Neel Kamal. Protesting farmers claim the struggle will continue till the Centre agrees to repeal the contentious laws. “Hundred days of protest is no mean thing, but for us it is nothing less than a do-or-die battle. We are ready to sit for any number of days or months as our only one motive is to get the laws repealed. Nothing less is acceptable to us,” said Gurmukh Singh of Chhiniwal village, Barnala district, while sitting at the Barnala railway station protest site. “It is well over three months of indefinite protests in Punjab. Farmers have braved chilly weather but not lost confidence and determination. We still are full of energy and will continue to struggle till our demands are met,” said farmer Karnail Singh at Lehra Bega toll plaza in Bathinda district. “These laws are like a death warrant for us and we will not sit back till these are thrown away,” said BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) Bathinda unit leader Mothu Siongh Kotda. Though the protesters had vacated the railway tracks after many days of sit-ins, the protests are continuing near the tracks either in railway parks or at nearby places, apart from those at 23 toll plazas, which have incurred losses of over Rs 300 crore during these months.

The Times of India

2021-01-09

India