Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers gherao Jandiala toll plaza, rail roko enters 16th day

Amritsar, October 9The farmers on Friday gheraoed toll plaza at Jandiala, on the Amritsar–Jalandhar GT road, for nearly two hours. Raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for pursuing ‘anti-farmer and pro-corporate’ policies they gave a call for boycott of products being sold by corporate companies. Meanwhile, the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) spearheaded the blockade of Amritsar-Delhi railway line at Devidas Pura village, which entered the 16th day.They have been seeking rolling back of three agriculture legislations, recently passed by Parliament. These legislations pertained to the Essential Commodities (EC) Act, to free up inter-state trade of agricultural commodities and provide a regulatory framework for contract farming. They stated that these ordinances envisaged to dislodging small-time farmers to help private firms to take over.They said the government was offering MSP on 23 crops but it was not buying all of these from farmers. They added that its agencies were procuring only 6 per cent grains from farmers, majorly from Haryana and Punjab. For instance, maize was sold at Rs1,100 in the market of Punjab whereas its MSP was fixed at Rs1,850.Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary of the KMSC, have been agitating against newly enacted agri Acts. He flayed the state for registering cases against farmers for stubble and straw burning. “Farmers setting stubble afire proved the failure of the government to provide them promised machineries. Agriculture machineries were not given free of cost to farmers who own less than 5 acres of land,” he said. Also, he sought Rs 6,000 per acre compensation for farmers to wean them away from farm residue burning.Furthermore, he called upon PM Modi to convene a meeting of all farmers unions of the country to resolve the matter before requesting urbanites to boycott articles of corporate houses and support their agitation.Sit-in outside MP Malik’s residence continuesAmritsar: The indefinite sit-in outside the residence of Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Malik continued on Friday. Members of the Kirti Kisan Union, Azad Kisan Sangharsh Committee, Kisan Sangharsh Committee were on Friday joined by Technical Services Union, PSPCL Employee, Democratic Teachers Front.They raised slogans against the Union government and BJP leaders for enacting anti-farmer legislations. Addressing the protestors, leaders Ashwani Awasthi and Malkiat Singh asked them to prepare for a prolonged stir. Meanwhile, on the call of the 31 farmer organisations, spearheading the agitation recently passed, members of the Jamhoori Kisan Sabha held two-hour long blockade on the Baba Bakala road.

The Tribune

2020-10-10