December dharna calendar: Now outside DC offices, ministers’ houses, SDM offices and rail roko

AFTER COMING back from Delhi borders, now unions of farmers and farm labourers are targeting the Punjab government and have announced their programmes of protest over their pending issues. While BKU Ugrahan will stage day-night protests outside Deputy Commissioner offices across the state from December 20-24, Punjab Khet Mazdoor Sanjha Morcha will protest against Chief Minister, Cabinet ministers and ruling party MLAs from December 17-27 and stage dharnas outside Sub-divisional Magistrate offices from December 28-30. Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) will be doing rail roko from December 20 on multiple rail tracks in the state. Complete loan waiver of farmers and farm labourers is a major demand behind these protests which the Congress had promised in their 2017 poll manifesto.

“Union members were supposed to meet Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on December 16 but they postponed the meeting without giving a new date. Hence we have planned our agitation as our problems related to state government haven’t been heard till now,” Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, general secretary of BKU Ugrahan, told The Indian Express.

He said, “Our demands are complete waiver of farm loans as announced by Congress in their 2017 poll manifesto, withdrawal of FIRs against farmers lodged during the course of agitation against farm laws, complete compensation to farmers and farm labourers where cotton crop has been damaged due to pink bollworm, Rs 3 lakh each compensation to families where farmers committed suicides, and compensation to all the farmers’ families who died during one year of struggle against farm laws. As of now, nearly 450 farmers’ families have been given compensation and a government job while over 650 farmers had died.” Lachman Singh Sewewala, general secretary of Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union (PKMU), said, “Over 36,000 Dalit families should get five-marla plots in Punjab villages as per the government’s promise and also because of their living conditions but they have given plots to around 4,300 families only till now. Our demands include waiver of loans taken from microfinance companies, and giving one third of the panchayati agricultural land reserved for Dalits to actual Dalit families instead of dummy candidates created by landlords.”

Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary of KMSC, said, “Our union has announced rail roko at eight different points from December 20 onwards. These points include Devidaspura in Majha Punjab, Amritsar – Delhi line, Tarn Taran railway station, Basti Tanka Wali in Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur, and Jalandhar railway stations. Our demands are complete waiver of farm loans as announced by Congress in their 2017 poll manifesto, removal of delay in compensation to farmers whose crops were damaged due to heavy rainfall this year, and enhanced prices for sugarcane crop should be given.”

‘No formal invite for talks’

Thirty-two farmer unions Saturday held a meeting in Ludhiana where they announced that till the time, nothing in writing comes before them regarding CM’s meeting, they will not be going. Buta Singh Burjgill, president of BKU Dakaunda, said, “Our December 17 meeting with CM got postponed to December 20. Someone from his office informed us verbally about it, but we got no formal invite. Hence, we won’t be going till the time we don’t get a written invitation for the meeting.” He added, “Our dharnas at few of the toll plazas will continue till the time hiked rates are reversed.”

No SKM link

While struggling against farm laws, all unions of Punjab used to protest under the same programme of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) but now they have their own separate plans of agitation like before.