Members of various farmers’ bodies squatted on train tracks at several places in Punjab as they began a three-day ‘rail roko’ agitation. This is for their pending various demands, including a financial package for losses caused by recent floods, a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP), and a debt waiver. According to protesters, the agitation against the Centre will continue till September 30. The farmers have planned to hold agitations in Moga, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, Patiala, Ferozepur, Bathinda, and Amritsar.
In Amritsar, farmers squatted on the Amritsar-Delhi railway track in Devidas Pura.
Several farmer bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Krantikari), BKU (Ekta Azaad), Azaad Kisan Committee Doaba, BKU (Behramke), BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh), and BKU (Chottu Ram), were participating in the protest. In Amritsar, farmer leader Gurbachan Singh said the farmers are demanding a Rs 50,000-crore flood relief package for the north Indian States and MSP as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report.
The entire debt of farmers and laborers should be waived, he said and also demanded 10 lakh compensation and a government job for the family of each farmer who died during the agitation against the now-repealed three farm laws.
