Punjab’s Furious Farmers Paralyse Toll Plazas, Plan Indefinite Protest from Today after Police Crackdown

In what could explode into a major confrontation for the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab, a farmer was killed in a violent clash with police at Longowal in Sangrur during a protest demonstration against a crackdown by authorities against leaders of 16 farmer unions, led by Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee on Monday morning. As 13 leaders of these unions were taken into preventive custody across the state, protests broke out in different parts of Punjab, with farmer unions laying siege near toll plazas in parts of Doaba, Malwa, and Majha regions.

The police crackdown was launched to prevent these 16 farmer unions—that are not part of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM)—from starting an indefinite protest at Chandigarh from Tuesday.

The call for protests has been given against the central government for its alleged failure to adequately compensate farmers for losses suffered by them due to the floods that have ravaged northern India since July. They are demanding a special package of Rs 50,000 crore for north India from the Centre for flood-affected farmers.

Among the demands raised by the protesters are increasing the compensation for the death of cattle to Rs 1 lakh, making arrangements for sand mining in their fields to clear silt, compensation for damaged borewells, and waiving of loans and interest, etc.

Though the SKM has not participated in the protests planned by these unions, many leaders from the morcha including Dr Darshan Pal, and other breakaway groups of five unions led by Balbir Singh Rajewal, have condemned the “arrest and repression of farmer leaders”.

Those detained include Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee state president Sarvan Singh Pandher, BKU Krantikari’s press secretary Jarnail Singh Kaleke, as well as Balwant Mehraj, Kuldeep Gurdaspur, Balwant Singh Behramke, Chamkaur Singh Usmanwala, Satnam Singh Bhura, Jaswant Singh Gatta, Chanan Singh, Jagtar Singh Jalle, Gurdeep Singh Bairoke, Jaswinder Singh Longowal, and Ranjit Singh Raju of Kisan Sabha, Rajasthan. Raju had come from Rajasthan to demand the release of more water in the Gang Canal.

Despite police action, the farmer union leaders have threatened to go ahead with their march to Chandigarh on Tuesday to start their protest. They have said that a large number of farmers will gather at the Shambhu border on Tuesday morning and begin their protest march to Chandigarh.

The farmers have decided to go ahead with the march after their talks which state police officials failed late on Monday night.