Ludhiana: Farm unions to protest on Nov 26

Tribune News Service

Manav Mander

Ludhiana, November 17

In Ludhiana district, 36 FIRs were registered against farmers for burning of stubble in their farms till Thursday.

Sources revealed that the majority of these FIRs had been registered against unknown persons.

In Ludhiana urban, only two FIRs have been registered. In Khanna, one FIR has been filed, while four and seven FIRs have been lodged in Samrala and Raikot, respectively. Most of these FIRs are against unidentified persons.

In Jagraon, 15 FIRs have been registered.

Jagraon Deputy Superintendent of Police Satwinder Singh Virk said after they receive the exact location of farm fires, they reach the spot. “If there is nobody on the spot, then it is not fair to register an FIR against the owner of the land because sometimes the farm land is given on contract or leased out,” he said.

“To avoid complications, we give the data to the patwaris to get the ownership details of the land and about the farmer who is cultivating the land,” he said.

In Payal, 14 FIRs have been registered against unidentified persons.

Rajwant Singh, a farmer from Khamano village, was caught by the police for setting stubble on fire and was fined. “The government should not label us criminals by registering FIRs and making ‘red entries’ in the revenue records,” he rued.

Meanwhile, various farmers’ unions will be holding a three-day protest at Chandigarh from November 26 to put forward their demands related to MSP and have also vowed to get these FIRs cancelled. Thirty-two farm unions will be participating in the protest.

HS Lakhowal, general secretary of Bhartiya Kisan Union, said, “Farmers are the food producers of the country and this is how the government treats them. Instead of taking farmers to the police station, it should provide baler machines to them so that the stubble is cleared.”

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