Repeal agricultural ordinances: Farmers

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 14

Members of the All-India Kisan Sangharsh Talmel Sangathan, an umbrella organisation of 250 pan-India farmer unions, along with seven local organisations got together to hold Lalkar Rally in Company Garden here on Monday.

The farmer union leaders highlighted different troubles being faced by farmers and the indifferent attitude of governments towards their problems. They demanded the repealing of three agricultural ordinances like amendment to the Essential Commodities (EC) Act, deregulating inter-state trade in agricultural commodities and providing a regulatory framework for contract farming.

Addressing the protesters, senior farmer leader Rattan Singh Randhawa said these ordinances would end the liberty of farmers and would eventually pave the way for the corporate houses to take over.

He said the Narendra Modi-led Union Government under the veil of Covid-19 was continuing its agenda to privatise state-owned companies. He stated that it was visible with partial attempts in the railways, power utilities in the provinces and other PSUs.

Highlighting the grievances of border farmers, the leaders stated that they had not been issued compensation for damages caused to crops by wild boars in the past nearly three years. They said the Punjab and Haryana High Court had fixed the compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre, with equal share between the Union and state governments. Over 20,000 acres of land belonging to 220 villages fall across the barbed fencing on the international border.

They said the government was bent on centralisation while undermining the federal structure. They claimed that the Union Government was shifting Rs 8.50 lakh crore deposited with cooperative banks in the country to the RBI.

Women leaders take command of morcha

Tarn Taran: On the eighth day of the ‘Pakka Morcha’ for Jail Bharo Andolan launched by the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Punjab, women leaders took the command of the morcha here on Monday. The organisation had started a permanent dharna outside the local District Administrative Complex (DAC) here.

Devinder Kaur, Kuldeep Kaur and Raj Rani led the protesters. Besides, Harjinder Kaur, Mohinder Kaur and Malkiat Kaur addressed and cautioned the Union Government and the Shiromani Akali Dal leadership against the implementation of the ordinances regarding the farmers which were depriving them of the minimum support price (MSP), government-managed procurement of farmers’ products, subsidies and other facilities like free power, etc. The leaders demanded the withdrawal of the ordinances, which were against the farmers and other sections of society. — OC

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