Farmers Movement Archive

Punjab labour & farm unions disrupt rail traffic for 4 hours

BATHINDA: Accusing the Punjab government of failing to fulfill the accepted demands, seven farmer and labour unions on Sunday disrupted rail traffic for four hours at 10 places across the districts of Bathinda, Mansa, Sangrur, Faridkot, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, and Amritsar. BKU Ekta Ugrahan supported the protest. On November 23, Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi had met labour unionists and accepted many of their demands. The blockade was from noon to 4pm, while the spots were Maanawala on the Amritsar-Delhi section, Dhilwan near Phillaur in Kapurthala district, Jethuke and Sangat in Bathinda district, Mansa, Sunam in Sangrur district, Gidderbaha in Muktsar district, Ajitwal in Moga district, and Jaito in Faridkot. The labour unions have threatened to intensify the protest if the government does not take action on their demands by December 15. Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union general secretary Lachman Sewewala and Mazdoor Mukti Morcha president Bhagwant Samao accused the Channi government of protecting the big landlords by withdrawing the letter for identifying those holding more land than legal. Sewewala said the way a deputy superintendent of police in CM's security had hit the protesters, it proved that "changing the CM had changed nothing". The government had agreed to give plots to the homeless and punish those delaying the handover. It had also agreed to restore the electricity connections of bill defaulters and offer loans of up to Rs 50,000 under a 25% labour quota in the primary agriculture co-operative societies, which give away subsidised pulses, sugar, and tea leaves apart from wheat to the holders of blue card. A panel under additional director general of police Ishwar Singh to probe cases of atrocities on Dalits and withdraw cases registered during stirs had agreed to give away a third of the shamlat land to them for a subsidised price and check dummy auctions. It was also to pay them ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 in case of a Covid death in family. The compensation for pest attack on cotton crop was fixed at 10%.

The Times of India

2021-12-13

Chandigarh