Farm union stops toll collection at 21 plazas in 13 districts for 2 days

Tribune News Service

Patiala, February 17

As many as 21 toll plazas in 13 districts of the state remained non-operational after the BKU (U) announced that the farm union would not let toll plazas operate across the state for two days.

On Friday, Union president Joginder Singh Ugrahan had declared that toll operations would remain suspended in the state on February 17 and 18.

The union member started the protest by stopping the operation of Ladhowal toll plaza in Ludhiana, which is considered to be one of the costliest toll plazas of the region. “Similarly, toll operations were stopped at 20 more locations in 13 districts of the state,” claimed Ugrahan.

General secretary of the union Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan said that so far toll operations had been stopped for two days and further decision on prolonging the protest would be taken following a meeting of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) members on Sunday.

In the afternoon, the farmer union took control of the toll plazas at Azizpur and Dhareri Jattan in Patiala and surrounding districts and allowed vehicles to pass by without paying any fee. Similar reports were received from Sangrur, Bathinda and other districts of Malwa.

All-India Kisan Federation (AIKF) president and SKM spokesperson Prem Singh Bhangu said that the decision of freeing toll barriers for vehicles was solely taken by the BKU (U) and the SKM was not part of it. “However, we have supported their decision,” said Bhangu.

The BKU (U) on Friday had announced to back the ‘Dilli Chalo’ march. Led by Joginder Singh Ugrahan, it is one of the biggest farm unions of the state and has a massive support base in Malwa, especially Sangrur, Mansa, Moga, Barnala and Ludhiana.

Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, the farmers are demanding implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and justice for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act-2013 and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.

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