Farmers Movement Archive

Eight months on, farm protests rage in Punjab

BATHINDA: While farmers’ protests at the borders of Delhi have been continuing for six months, protests in Punjab have completed eight months. Protests erupted at railway tracks, toll plazas, shopping malls, petrol pumps of a corporate house, silos of another corporate house and outside the homes of BJP leaders in Punjab on October 1. This followed Presidential assent to the three contentious agricultural acts on September 27, 2020. Although farmers vacated rail tracks, protests are continuing at over 140 places across Punjab. A total of 30 farm organisations are jointly staging protests at nearly 100 places across the state. Farm organisation BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) is doing so at about 40 places. Toll collection companies have suffered heavy losses on account of the protests. According to an estimate by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), toll collection of nearly Rs 700 crore has been lost. Because of the revenue loss, a number of temporary and contractual employees of these companies have lost their jobs while a few regular employees have not received salaries. For the last eight months, farmers have been reaching protest sites in large numbers every day and returning in the evening. “Despite many farmers camping at Delhi borders, these protests have not lost its sheen,” said BKU (Ekta Dakaunda) state press secretary Balwant Singh, who was sitting at Barnala railway station protest site. BKU (Ekta Sidhupur) district Bathinda general secretary Resham Singh Yatri said, “Our protests are unabated.”

The Times of India

2021-05-31

Amritsar