‘Chandigarh Chalo’ protest: Hundreds of farmers detained in Punjab as police block entry into capital

While farmer Kirpa Singh Nathuwala, a member of Kisan Bhalai Morcha, said that he and five others reached Sector 34 in Chandigarh in private vehicles, several others were prevented from moving towards the city, leading to farmers sitting on the roads in protest at Bhawanigarh and Gharachon in Sangrur, Dhapai and Bhaini Darera in Mansa, Badbar in Barnala, Jethuke in Bathinda etc.

“Despite the Emergency-like situation where hundreds are being taken into police custody, men and women came out on the roads and protested the diktat of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Farmers taken into custody yesterday have been sent to jail. We are yet to get the exact number of people,” Raminder Singh Patiala, press secretary of Kirti Kisan Union, said. “We are sitting on the roads. Let us see what the CM says now,” he added.

On Tuesday, several SKM leaders were detained by the police even as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann hit out at the protesting farmers, saying they had turned Punjab into a “state of dharnas”. The farmers were later booked under Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita sections related to breach of peace.

On Monday, Mann had walked out of a meeting with SKM leaders where they had presented their 18 demands, including minimum support price for crops and ownership rights for hereditary tenant farmers.

Earlier on Wednesday, the first batch of trolleys with members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Punjab that began its journey from Makhu block in Ferozepur on Tuesday evening was stopped near Hedon village in Ludhiana’s Samrala constituency on Wednesday morning. Another group of farmers from Patiala was prevented from moving towards Chandigarh as the police parked sand tippers on the Patiala-Chandigarh Road, sources said.

“Around 20 BKU Punjab trolleys have been stopped near Samrala while another batch that started from Moga was stopped near Ajitwal in Moga district on Wednesday morning,” Gurmeet Singh Mehma, state general secretary of Krantikari Kisan Union, said.

A convoy of about 20 vehicles from Fazilka was stopped near Jagraon in Ludhiana, sources said.

“Trolleys are going through villages instead of following the main road route. The batches of trolleys are small…not what we had planned earlier. Police have been deployed at all locations,” a farmer union leader said.

The farmers who were part of the convoy stopped near Samrala have parked their vehicles on the roadside, sources said, adding that they are reciting ‘Satnam Waheguru’ using battery-operated speakers. “Wherever we will be stopped, farmers will sit on the roadside. We will not obstruct traffic,” Mehma said.

Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, general secretary of BKU Ugrahan, said its members will move towards Chandigarh soon. “Our (protest) call stands. Heavy police force has been deployed everywhere in the state and we are not being allowed to go to our state capital,” Kokrikalan said.