Statewide protests over Zira liquor plant

Ferozepur, January 3

The Sanjha Morcha and other organisations, including Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugraha), today held statewide demonstrations and burnt effigies of the AAP government.

They alleged the government’s failure to protect the interests of the protesters who have been sitting on a dharna for the past 164 days demanding closure of the ethanol plant at Mansurwala village in Zira.

While terming today’s protest just the beginning of the next stage of their agitation, the BKU (Ekta- Ugraha) claimed that the protests were held in more than 800 villages across 18 districts of the state.

Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, general secretary of BKU (Ekta-Ugraha), said the state government should immediately withdraw the FIRs against the protesters and close the ethanol plant which had become the root cause of the entire controversy.

Sanjha Morcha members said the effigies of the government would be burnt across the villages of the state again tomorrow.

Mansurwala sarpanch Gurmail Singh said the statewide protests would be followed by a huge congregation of various farm unions in the village on January 6 at the bhog ceremony of Rajvir Singh (37) who died a few days back allegedly due to pollution generated by the plant.

Several leaders addressed the protesters at the dharna site expressing their support to their cause.

On the other hand, the district administration today held a virtual meeting to take stock of the sampling and inspection work of the various members of the fact-finding panels.

ADC (G) Sagar Setia said during the meeting, the work of the various committees was reviewed and panel members were asked to complete the pending field work soon.

The ADC said health analysis committee had completed the ground survey and medical examination work in various villages close to the plant.

The members of the animal husbandry committee, which has been formed to ascertain the reason behind the alleged deaths of cattle, said their team had taken 32 blood samples, 10 fodder samples, 12 milk samples, nine feed samples and 30 excreta samples from the area.

They said the report would be submitted soon.

Sampling work reviewed by administration

• The district administration on Tuesday held a virtual meeting to take stock of the sampling and inspection work of the various members of the fact-finding committees
• ADC (G) Sagar Setia said health analysis committee had completed the ground survey and medical examination work in various villages close to the plant