Farmers Movement Archive

Finally, farmers’ dharna lifted from Adani Group’s dry port

The year-long dharna in Kila Raipur, which caused Adani Logistics Services, a subsidiary of the Adani Group, to shut its inland container depot (ICD), or dry port, was lifted on Wednesday. Nearly 500 employees had lost their jobs after the ICD was shut down in August due to the farmers’ dharna at the entrance of the facility.A massive rally was held at Kila Raipur before culmination of the protest, where Kalyan Singh Sandhu, general secretary of Jamhoori Kisan Sabha, Punjab, who had led the year-long agitation here, was given a grand reception. Protesters also paid homage to Mohinder Kaur, 70, who had died at the dharna site. Besides, tributes were paid to all farmers, who died during the protests at Singhu and Tikri borders.Harnek Singh Gujjarwal, SKM member and district secretary, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Naujawan Sabha, Punjab, said, “Since the day Adani left, we had been demanding that instead of lending the logistics park to any private company, the government should take its control and reinstate the employees to generate employment in the area.”The Adani Group had set up the depot in 2017 over 80 acres to facilitate the industries in Ludhiana by providing them cargo services through rail and road.In January, it became the target of SKM, when activists of farmer organisations placed tractors and trolleys in front of its gate and started an indefinite protest to oppose the three farm laws.This obstructed the movement of goods, completely halting operations of the ICD.An employee said the company was incurring a daily loss of ₹50 crore due to the closure of the depot: “The government incurred a loss to the exchequer in the form of GST, customs duties and other taxes to the tune of ₹700 crore and an overall economic impact of around ₹7,000 crore.”

Hindustan Times

16-12-2021

Chandigarh