Farmers Movement Archive

Uttarakhand: Terai farmers protesting against agriculture laws occupy toll plaza, railway tracks

RUDRAPUR: Stepping up their protests for the repeal of Centre’s agriculture laws, hundreds of Terai farmers affiliated to the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) and Terai Kisan Mahasabha (TKM) on Thursday staged a dharna at a toll plaza located near Deoria village on National Highway-74 in Udham Singh Nagar district, and stopped the authorities from collecting fees from commuters. The farmers also occupied railway tracks in various towns of the region as announced by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of farmer unions spearheading the agitations. At around 11am the agitating farmers squatted on the road at toll plaza and shouted slogans against the BJP-led government at the Centre, accusing it of implementing “anti-farmer” policies. “Farmers are staging dharna at almost all the toll plazas across the country. Hundreds of farmers have gathered at the toll plaza on Kichha road and we are not letting authorities collect any fees from commuters. We are staging this protest for one day. If they continue to collect fees from tractors or the vehicles bearing farmer unions' flags, we will be squatting with ‘pucca morcha’ (permanent protest site) on all toll plazas,” said TKM’s president Tejender Singh Virk. Meanwhile, under the ‘rail roko’ protest announced by the SKM, groups of farmers in various towns of the district organised a four-hour long rail blockade. At Bazpur, farmers led by Karam Singh Padda, BKU’s state president, said that the Centre has strangulated democracy by passing these laws, but the people of the country will not let the NDA government go ahead with this. "The farmers are feeling betrayed with the government’s move as their future is at stake and we will be intensifying our protest with new strategies until our demand of repealing these laws is met,” Padda added. Similarly, in Khatima, Sitarganj and Kashipur towns, the farmers sat at the railway tracks and staged protests. The protest which started at 12 noon ended at 4 pm. In a bid to ensure law and order situation, a large number of police personnel were deployed at the toll plaza and railway tracks.

The Times of India

2021-02-19

Dehradun