Farmers in Punjab block highways in protest against ‘tardy’ paddy procurement

CHANDIGARH — Activists of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a farmer outfit, on Friday blocked roads across Punjab for four hours to protest the tardy paddy procurement, leading to traffic disruptions and inconvenience to tens of thousands of commuters at many places.

However, there was no report of violence from anywhere in both the state

Commuters are likely to face more inconvenience on Saturday with Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, led by Sarwan Singh Pandher, announcing a road blockade for an indefinite period at many places to protest against the “tardy” paddy procurement.

The protesters criticised the state government’s decision to reduce DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) fertiliser stocks by 30 per cent. They demanded a steady supply of DAP.

SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal blamed both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of Punjab and the BJP-led central government for the mess.

He said they should not play the blame game at the cost of farmers and the economy of the state.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) Ludhiana district president Charan Singh Noorpura said corporate entities are taking advantage of open market policies that undercut small-scale farmers.

Protesting farmers belonging to different outfits started assembling along the highways, mainly in front of the toll plazas in both states, well before the blockade came into effect at 11 a.m.

The farmers put up road blockades on national and state highways at many places in Patiala, Dera Bassi, Barnala, Moga, Ludhiana, Phagwara and Amritsar as part of a ‘chakka jam’ protest, causing inconvenience to commuters.

Emergency and essential services like ambulances and school buses were exempted from the blockade, said protesters.

Heavy police presence was seen at various places to maintain law and order in view of the protest by the farmers. As a precaution, the police have diverted traffic at many places.

Farmer leader Pandher said the “chakka jam” on Saturday would be held at one place each in Sangrur and Moga districts and at Phagwara in Kapurthala district and Batala in Gurdaspur district.