Complete Punjab shutdown on Dec 30, medical services to operate: Farm leader Pandher

Chandigarh, Dec 26 Protesting farm unions on Thursday announced that they have received assurance from a wide spectrum of employee unions, traders, and transporters for joining their Punjab shutdown on December 30 in support of their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Slamming the Centre for not accepting the demands of protesting farmers, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher clarified that emergency services, passengers bound for airports, and students going for exams would be exempted from the shutdown.

"Emergency services like medical services will continue, airport passengers will not be stopped, vehicles of marriage parties also will not be stopped. Besides, students will also be allowed to go for their exams. We urge the entire Punjab, especially the youth, to follow what the forum decides," he told the media.

The farmers have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri borders between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 in support of their long-pending demands. Besides the legal MSP for crops, they have been demanding loan waivers and reforms to improve conditions in the agricultural sector.

Another farm union, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has written to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking an appointment with her to discuss their issues.

The SKM said they wanted to address the situation surrounding farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s hunger strike and other “pressing issues”, including the introduction of a National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing.

Meanwhile, Dallewal’s fast-unto-death entered the 31st day on Thursday.

Earlier, railway commuters faced inconvenience in Punjab with a three-hour "rail roko" protest on December 18 by farmers who squatted on rail tracks.

The protest was carried out at over 100 locations in the state, badly impacting the railway services, at the call of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha.

A group of 101 farmers attempted to march to Delhi on foot thrice between December 6 and 14 but were stopped by security personnel of Haryana.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on December 24 slammed the BJP-led Union government for "stepmotherly treatment" of farmers by not even giving them an opportunity to air their genuine demands.

In a statement, the Chief Minister has said global leader Narendra Modi “is more worried about intervening in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine but the Prime Minister is apathetic towards the food growers of the country”.

He has said the Union government has been blatantly ignoring the genuine demands of the farmers of the country, which is highly deplorable.

The Chief Minister reminded PM Modi that when the country was facing a serious crisis in food production, the hard-working and resilient farmers of the state had made the country self-reliant in grains.

He has said the farmers of the state had even over-exploited the only available natural resources in terms of fertile soil and water, just to fill the national food pool.

Source: IANS