Carrying trollies of stubble, farmers protest at 34 places in Punjab against legal action

Speaking to The Indian Express, Sarwan Singh Pandher, convenor of 18 farm unions, said, “We are protesting against the FIRs lodged against the farmers for burning stubble; huge environmental compensation imposed on them; and red entries made in the land records of farmers for stubble burning (a red entry may get in the way of farmers when taking loans from banks against the said land, mortgaging it or selling it). Other actions include threats of cancelling arms licences, and passports, apart from naming and shaming the farmers by the government. We are seeking a rollback of such actions. We carried paddy stubble to the protest sites as we wanted to give the crop residue to the district administration. Let them manage it (paddy straw) if they can”.

In Fazilka, Hardeep Singh, a farmer leader, said, “No action is being taken against polluting factories that release toxic fumes into the air and discharge industrial waste into water bodies, but farmers are being blamed and defamed unnecessarily.”

In the district, over a dozen tractor trollies were parked outside the DC’s office when the protest was going on.

The farm unions affiliated to the SKM (apolitical) protested under the leadership of Jagjit Singh Dallewal, president of BKU Sidhupur.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Dallewal said, “Hundreds of factories pollute air, water, and soil. The pollution control board takes some action against a few, but these units start operating again after some time. So, it’s back to square one. Have they taken such strict actions against them the way they are taking against farmers? They (authorities) are being too harsh with us when it comes to punitive action, while these industries are getting away with a slap on the wrist.”

In Fatehgarh Sahib, farmers were seen entering the city along with 50 trollies of stubble. “One group was stopped on the outskirts of the city, another near Gurdwara Jyoti Swarup inside the city due to which we had no choice but to stage dharna wherever we were stopped, causing bottlenecks in the area. As a result, there was a traffic jam on the main road for at least four hours,” Dallewal added.

In Mohali, farmers burnt a mound of stubble near the deputy commissioner’s office. Dallewal said, “It was a symbolic protest to burn paddy straw.”

In Ludhiana, farmers were stopped near Sangowal village, and so they staged a protest at the spot for four hours.

In Moga, farmers even had a scuffle with police when they were initially stopped by them from reaching the deputy commissioner’s office. One of the farmers, a member of BKU (Krantikari), lied in front of a police vehicle, demanding they be allowed to go to the DC complex.

In Amritsar, too, farmers were briefly stopped on the outskirts of the city by police, but majority of them reached the protest site.

In Hoshiarpur, farmers under the banner of Azad Kisan Committee Doaba staged a ‘dharna’ against punitive actions towards farmers involved in burning stubble. Led by Harpal Singh Sangha, the president of Azad Kisan Committee Doaba, the farmers gathered in front of the district administrative complex. They submitted a memorandum to the Hoshiarpur DC outlining their concerns and demands.

Dallewal said, “A day after Diwali, the air quality in Delhi and Punjab was hazardous. At that time farmers did not burn stubble as it had rained on Friday and Saturday, while Diwali was on Sunday. So, who was responsible for that poor air quality? Governments need to introspect, probe and come clean about it, instead of blatantly passing the buck to the farmers.”

Protests were also organised in Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Ferozepur, Barnala, Bathinda and other districts. Farmers said that they will announce their next plan of action soon.

Police on Sunday had said that over 930 FIRs had been registered against farmers for burning stubble since November 8, besides, a fine of Rs 1.67 crore had been imposed in 7,405 cases and red entries were made in the revenue records of 340 farmers.