Farmers seek cancellation of cases, stage protest

BATHINDA: Demanding cancellation of cases registered against them for sowing paddy before June 20 and burning stubble last year, farmers under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) protested in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Tuesday.

Farmers protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Bathinda on Tuesday. Photo: Vijay kumar

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 19

Demanding cancellation of cases registered against them for sowing paddy before June 20 and burning stubble last year, farmers under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) protested in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Tuesday.

Addressing the protesters, farmer leaders Jhanda Singh Jethuke and Shingara Singh Mann said the state government’s decision to ban transplanting paddy before June 20 was wrong.

They said the government was deliberately raising the issue of water and pollution and defaming the farmers. The government has not made adequate arrangements, forcing them to sow paddy in advance and burn paddy stubble, the farmer leaders added.

For their profits, industries are polluting the air and water, they said.

The farmers also submitted a charter of their demands, addressing to the Chief Minister, to the Deputy Commissioner.

Beside cancellation of cases, the farmers demanded river water be provided to them for irrigation, arrangement for soaking rain water in the ground, installation of sewerage treatment plant and efforts to promote maize, basmati and pulses, which require less water.

Farmers Harjinder Singh Baggi, Basant Singh, Jagsir Singh, Babbu Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Manjit Singh, Amrik Singh, Kulwant Rai, Bachittar Singh, Harinder Kaur and mazddor union’s state present Zora Singh were present in the protest.

Protest in Barnala

Barnala: Farmers under the banner of the BKU Ugraha also protested in front of the Deputy Commissioner (DC)’s office in Barnala.

They were also seeking cancellation of FIRs registered against all those farmers, who opposed the Agriculture Department’s move to sow paddy before June 20. Besides, they demanded proper arrangement of water for irrigation and water recharging facilities.

“The state government is harassing farmers without any reasons. We are being pressurised to delay paddy-sowing, but the government is unwilling to increase the percentage of permissible moisture in paddy,” said Satwinder Singh, a protesting farmer.

Chamakur Singh, district president of the BKU Ugraha, said the farmers would intensify their agitation if the government failed to fulfil their demands.