Protesting since Nov 18, farmers storm DC office over demand for relief to tiller’s family

A large number of farmers from six districts stormed the district administrative complex here on Tuesday and blocked all entry and exit points, seeking Rs 10 lakh compensation and government job for a kin of the farmer who died in a road accident on November 11.

They lifted their dharna about 7 pm from inside the complex, announcing that it would however continue outside the building.

The farmers belonging to Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa, Moga, Fazilka and Faridkot launched the indefinite stir under the banner of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan).

The decision to gherao the complex was announced earlier as several farmers had been protesting over the issue outside the building since November 18.

Harjit Singh from Kotkapura had died in a road accident on November 11 while returning from Fazilka district after distributing free wheat seeds to flood-hit farmers.

The protesters had also been demanding free treatment for farmer Balwant Singh, who was injured in the same mishap.

On Tuesday, the “outnumbered” police personnel failed to stop the protesters as they entered the premises in the afternoon and squatted at all entry and exit points.

A large number of cops were deployed in and around the complex as a preventive measure while all entry and exit gates were locked.

Deputy Commissioner Abhijeet Kaplish came to his office but left early today.

The farmers raised slogans against the state government through public address systems installed on their vehicles.

Though some meetings were held between them and Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Gurpreet Singh Thind, the talks remained inconclusive.

The protesters allowed the employees and the public to leave, saying their issues were with the officers and the state government.

An employee at the office said they had even brought the matter to the notice of the Punjab State Ministerial Services Union.

Gurpash Singh Singhewala, senior vice-president of the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) in Muktsar district, said, “We are demanding justice for a farmer who lost his life while returning from Fazilka after doing the task that the state government should have done.”

“Similarly, we want free treatment for the injured farmer. The state government, however, has not listened to us for about a month now. Our protest will continue until all the demands are met,” he said, adding that they did not harass the public or any employee.

“Our fight is with the state government. The ADC tried to come out once, but we did not allow him,” he said.

“Today’s protest was just to show our strength to the state government. Since the DC expressed his inability to resolve the issue, we lifted the protest from inside the DAC. We were not even prepared to continue this protest for long. However, our protest will continue outside the DAC. We will plan the further course of action in the coming days,” he said.

Late in the evening, two farmer leaders met the deputy commissioner at his residence. “The DC has not assured us of anything yet. He has simply told us that the matter is not in his hands. Our protest will continue,” said Shingara Singh Mann, secretary of the union.

Muktsar ADC Gurpreet Singh Thind said, “Talks are underway with the farmers and we are assuring them that their demands will be met. We are not being held hostage by them. We are here to resolve the issue and engage in discussions with them.”

First major stir inside complex after 10 years

Such a protest has been witnessed inside the DAC after almost a decade. In October 2015, then Indian Youth Congress (IYC) chief and Gidderbaha MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Warring had locked the entrance of the administrative block of the complex.