Farmers Movement Archive

3 villages in Jind collect Rs 40 lakh for agitation

Chattar/Jind: At a time when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is sending notices to farmers and those supporting their protest against the farm laws, Haryana farmers have intensified their campaign to collect more funds to counter the latest propaganda. At panchayat meetings held in Uchana sub division of Jind district on Sunday, three villages managed to collect around Rs 40 lakh. At Chhatar village, the largest in Uchana sub division, the collections were Rs 20 lakh by the end of the meeting. The village has around 9,000 acre land and every farmer contributed Rs 200 per acre. Those who don’t have any land, will contribute as per their capability. Chhatar former sarpanch Kala said, “We have collected over Rs 20 lakh, which may go up to Rs 5 crore if the agitation gets extended for long. It is to show the Union government that villages are there to fund the (farmers) agitation. We have planned to fight against these three laws till 2024. We have even banned the entry of BJP leaders and their supporters in our village till the time our demands are met. The BJP is trying to divert the agitation (of protesting farmers), but they don’t know that every section of society is standing with farmers and funding the agitation.” Similarly, at Goghariya village, farmers collected around Rs 5 lakh, with every tiller contributing Rs 100 per acre. At Karsindhu, the collections were started after announcements in the village. With every farmer donating 100 Rs per acre, they managed to collect Rs 10 lakh in a single day. Several villagers told TOI that there is around 10,000 acre land in the village and collections will continue. “This is a donation for farmers, but the government calling it funding to give it a negative connotation... We are not terrorists but farmers, who feed the nation. We are collecting funds for our own people and to save our own country. This is just a start and collections will increase in the future,” claimed Karmpal Singh, an exserviceman.

The Times of India

2021-01-18

Chandigarh