Farmers block NH, commuters at receiving end

Aparna Banerji & Ashok Kaura

Vehicular road traffic between Jalandhar and Ludhiana remained disrupted due to a dharna by farmers on the Jalandhar-Phillaur national highway today on a call of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha over the delayed lifting of paddy from mandis.

Farmers held up traffic on the road for three hours, holding dharnas at the Dhannowali Rail Crossing, Phagwara Sugar Mill Chowk and Phillaur on Sunday.

Govt should make arrangements

Even if farmers’ demands are valid, a thought should be spared to the trouble being faced by the common man. The administration should also make adequate arrangements beforehand. —  A commuter

Advertisement

At Jalandhar, hundreds of farmers under state leaders of the Kirti Kisan Union Santokh Singh Sandhu and Gurkanwal Singh; Jamhuri Kisan Sabha’s Jaswinder Singh; Bharti Kisan Union’s (Rajewal) Baljit Singh Mahal; Bharti Kisan Union’s (Kadian) Jatinder Singh; Arhtiya Association Punjab’s Gulshan, Sheller Union president Ashok Kumar; Pendu Mazdoor Union’s Jarnail Singh Phillaur among others squatted on the road, raising slogans against the state and Centre.

In Phagwara, more than 300 farmers and arhtiyas belonging to the BKU (Doaba) and the Arhtiya Association, Phagwara, led by BKU general secretary Satnam Singh Sahni and Naresh Bhardwaj (president Arhtiya Association, Phagwara) blocked traffic at GT Road (Ludhiana-Jalandhar side) for three hours in front of Golden Sandhar Sugar Mill, Phagwara. The dharna was held on a call of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha to oppose the non-lifting or delayed lifting of paddy by the Punjab Government.

Commuters remained a harried lot as serpentine queues of vehicles formed on the road amid the blockade. They also rued lack of proper diversions of traffic and alternative routes by the district administration.

The dharna was held following the call of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha to ensure the purchase of paddy and protest problems being faced by farmers in the lifting of their paddy crop at mandis.

Leaders said paddy crop was languishing in the markets. Jathedar Kashmir Singh Jandiala from the BKU Rajewal said, “For the past 17 days, no lifting has taken place due to which farmers are a harried lot. We want to tell the Central and state governments that we won’t sit idle until our demands are met. Further action will be announced as per SKM’s decision.”

Farmers said last year’s crop of rice (130 lakh metric tonne) and wheat (50 lakh metric tonnes) had not yet been cleared from warehouses and sheds. For the current paddy crop, the issue of lifting was required to be resolved by March 31 or at the latest by May 31 but it had not been resolved yet.

They said on the other hand, the Centre was deliberately meting out stepmotherly treatment to the state by delaying the shifting of the old purchased material. Meanwhile, commuters remained hassled during the dharna.

Surinder Singh, travelling towards a village in Phillaur, said, “I have been stuck for two hours. Even if farmers had to hold a dharna, at least an alternative route should have been declared for commuters a day before to avoid inconvenience.”

Another man heading to a wedding party said, “Even if their demands are valid, a thought should be spared to the trouble being faced by common man. The administration should also make adequate arrangements beforehand.”