As casualties mount, farmer unions want compensation policy

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 17

With the number of casualties during the Delhi protest increasing, the farmer organisations are shaping a new struggle to get adequate compensation for the kin of the dead farmers. In the past three weeks, 25 farmers have died due to either freak accidents or cold weather.

The farmer organisations have been demanding a compensation of Rs 10 lakh and a government job for the family members of farmers who died in the Delhi protest.

The most recent is example of 67-year-old Gurmail Kaur, an active member of the BKU (Ugrahan) at Gharcho village in Sangrur district for past several years, who passed away during the Delhi Morcha on December 8.

The farmer unions refused to cremate her body and demanded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh. The body was cremated on Thursday after the government gave a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and surety of providing rest during bhog. BKU (Ugrahan) leader Sukhdev Kokri said they wouldn’t accept anything less than Rs 10 lakh as compensation and a government job to the family member.

Even most organisations of the Sanjha Kisan Morcha also agree on the issue. “It has been our long time demand that there should be a proper policy for compensation. Besides Rs 10 lakh compensation and a government job, we demand complete debt waiver of the dead farmer,” said Jagmohan Singh of BKU (Dakaunda).

Earlier on December 3, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the family of protesters losing lives in the Delhi stir.

Congress MLA Amarinder Raja Warring had also urged CM Capt Amarinder Singh, to provide government jobs and Rs 10 lakh compensation to the family of deceased farmers.