Farmers Movement Archive

Ludhiana court blast: Protesting farmers move outside mini-secretariat amid security concerns

Amid heightened security concerns in view of the blast that took place in the washroom of the Ludhiana courts complex on Thursday, farmers protesting outside the DC office have shifted outside the mini-secretariat complex. The mini-secretariat complex is located right behind the courts complex. The farmers, under the banner of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), have been staging a sit-in at the mini-secretariat since Monday over unfulfilled promises of the state government, including debt waiver, compensation for damaged cotton crop, state advisory price (SAP) for sugarcane, among other demands. Prepared for a long-haul, they had brought along gas cylinders, wheat, vegetables, mattresses and other necessities. On Tuesday, they had even confined deputy commissioner (DC) Varinder Sharma in his office for over four hours. Though chief minister (CM) Charanjit Singh Channi met the union leaders on Thursday and agreed to most of their demands, the farmers decided to carry on with their protest. They, however, agreed to shift the protest site outside the mini-secretariat complex in view of security concerns. Raikot in-charge of the farmers’ union, Gurpreet Singh said, “We were protesting outside the DC office building when we heard the explosion. Panic gripped the vicinity and the cops asked us move out of the complex due to security reasons. We agreed to change the site. The protest will continue on Friday but it will be outside the mini-secretariat complex.”He added that the union will have the next meeting with the state government on December 30.

Hindustan Times

24-12-2021

Chandigarh