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Agitating farmers laid siege to the toll plaza on the Zirakpur-Banur road on Wednesday, taking the number of tolls plazas under farmers’ control to 24. The farmers, who are protesting for guaranteed MSP for crops and other demands, have been protesting at 23 toll plazas since Saturday, rendering them toll-free. Farmers said that no levy collection will be allowed at these toll plazas till February 22.
BKU (Ekta Ugrahan)’s state general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan said, “Today, our activists started dharna on the Zirakpur-Banur road. With this, toll plaza protests have reached 14 districts. Our union condemns the barbaric action by the Haryana police on farmers of Punjab who want to go to Delhi for a demonstration in support of their demands.”
Uneasy calm at Doomwali village
Meanwhile, an uneasy calm prevailed at the Doomwali village on the Bathinda-Sirsa border near Dabwali where farmers have been camping for the last nine days. Though the protesters made no effort to enter Haryana, police remained on alert with heavy deployment made along the barrier to prevent farmers from heading towards Delhi. The Haryana police are also keeping tabs on the situation with the help of drones.
SKM hints at joining protest
Meanwhile, the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which had so far maintained its distance from the ‘Delhi Chalo’ call by the SKM (non-political) faction, hinted at joining the protest after a farmer’s death Khanauri barrier.
“Death of a farmer is simply not acceptable, it is leadership failure,” said farm leader Balbir Singh Rajewal, who heads the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) which is a constituent of SKM.
“The way things were building up since the protest, we were apprehending untoward incidents and had even warned the leaders who are spearheading the protests to keep the protesters, particularly the youngsters in control,” said adds Rajewal.
“But sadly, things went haywire. We will announce our programme tomorrow,” said Rajewal. A meeting of the national body of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha is scheduled in Chandigarh on Thursday.
BKU (Dakounda) general secretary Jagmohan Singh said, “The farm protest cannot be left in the hands of two organisations which are unable to handle it. So other farm organisations must join the protest. We hope to reach a decision in tomorrow’s meeting of the SKM.”
SKM (non-political) is a state-level body having the support of 17 farm bodies and is led by BKU (Sidhupur) convener Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangarh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher. Despite attempts, the two leaders were not available for comments.
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