Flood victims protest from Harike Headworks gates, demand relief

Workers of the Flood Victims’ Kisan Sangharsh Committee (KSC), Punjab, continued their dharna on the 12th day today by climbing atop the floodgates of the Harike Headworks, demanding the early release of compensation for crop damage.

Addressing the protesters, Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, state president of the committee, said that families living on thousands of acres of land along the Dhussi embankments were badly affected by the floods. He said that due to flooding, farmers had suffered massive losses, including standing crops, tubewells, residential houses, livestock and agricultural machinery. However, despite repeated demands, they have not received any compensation so far and the government has done nothing for their rehabilitation.

Farmer leader Gurjit Singh Ram Singh Wala alleged that the state government has not paid even a single penny in compensation to nearly 60 per cent of the affected farmers for losses caused by the floods. He said that whenever flood-hit farmers approached the administration for compensation, the process was deliberately delayed.

He further alleged that the administration was acting under political pressure and vendetta, as the affected farmers were unwilling to assure political support to the ruling party. He said such discrimination was unacceptable and unjustified.

The farmer leaders warned that the protest would continue until all their demands were met. They said the flood victims’ organisation was receiving full support from various public organisations and announced that a major public movement would be launched on January 19 if the government failed to address their demands.