Farmers Movement Archive

Punjab: ‘Will continue to struggle till demands are met’

BATHINDA: The protest against the central agriculture marketing laws in Punjab completed 100 days on Friday. The protests on railway tracks, toll plazas and business establishments of some corporate houses, apart from the residences of BJP leaders, had started in the state on October 1. Even though the protests shifted to the Delhi borders on November 26, the agitation in Punjab is continuing. Protesting farmers claim the struggle will continue till the central government not 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 We are ready to sit for any number of days or months as our only one motive is to get the laws repealed.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 from Chhiniwal village in Barnala district while sitting at 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 railway tracks after many days of sit-ins, protests are continuing near tracks either in railway parks or 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

Amritsar