Farmers Movement Archive

Terai farmers burn copies of agri reform laws on Lohri

Rudrapur: On the occasion of harvest festival Lohri on Wednesday, farmers of Uttarakhand’s Terai region — known as the rice bowl of the state — burnt copies of the three new farm laws at several places in the Udham Singh Nagar district. The agitation started in Rudrapur with a protest march — from the grain market to Maharaja Ranjit Singh Park — taken out by hundreds of farmers, their wives, and kids. At the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Park, protesters lit the traditional Lohri bonfire and burnt the copies of the three new laws in it. Tejender Singh Virk, president of Terai Kisan Sabha (TKS), who came to participate in the protest from Delhi-Ghazipur border, said, “We decided to burn the copies of the farm laws to protest against these legislations. We will not accept these laws as they are not in the interest of farmers. Thus, the government must repeal them.” In a similar vein, Sandeep Singh Cheema, former vice-president of zila panchayat, said, “Until the Centre accepts all the demands of the farmers, our agitation will continue.” The protest in Rudrapur was led by Bibi Jagir Kaur, a Bigwara village local, who said, “The Punjabi community has an enriched history of struggle. Our Gurus have taught us not to bow before injustice. We will not stop until the Modi government revokes these draconian laws.” Similar protests were held in other towns — Jaspur, Kashipur, Bazpur, Gadarpur, Sitarganj, and Khatima — of the district. During the protest, Virk also announced to ghearo the residence of state education minister Arvind Pandey. This comes after Pandey went to Delhi last month with some farmers to meet the Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and express his support for the new agri reform laws. Ever since, Pandey has been shown black flags in his constituency twice. Meanwhile, a few villages of the district have put a ban on the entry of political leaders who are backing the new farm laws. In Shivpuri village of Bazpur, locals have passed a resolution to boycott BJP ministers and all the MLAs who are supporting the three laws. The locals have also put up banners reading “anti-farmer politicians not allowed to enter the village”. Similar banners have also been put up in Banskhera and Barakhera villages of Gadarpur constituency. It is worth mentioning that the Supreme Court, on January 12, “suspended” the “implementation” of three farm laws in a bid to persuade agitating farmers to come to the “negotiation table”.

The Times of India

2021-01-14

Dehradun