Farmers start 3-day protest
Saturday, 23/01/2016
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BATHINDA: Going ahead with their three-day state wide protest, even as a delegation is scheduled to meet chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on January 27 to press for acceptance of their demands, over 1,000 farmers protest at Rai Ke Kalan village in the district on Friday.
Farmers protesting outside the deputy commissioner’s office in Amritsar on Friday.
Farmers have been demanding a compensation of ` 40,000 per acre for cotton crop loss and ` 20,000 per acre for farm labourers, who could not get work due to the crop damage.
Another demand is MSP of ` 4,500 per quintal for basmati-1509 variety and ` 5,000 per quintal for basmati-1121 variety; clearance of sugarcane growers’ dues is also on the agenda.
In a softening of stance from the farmers as well as the administration, protesters did not insist on sitting outside the CM’s house at his native village in Muktsar and the police released 10 farm leaders who had been detained during a crackdown against protests.
‘FARM LABOURERS FORCED TO END LIFE’
AMRITSAR: Farmers in the district sat on three-day dharna outside Amritsar deputy commissioner’s office on Friday demanding ` 20,000 as compensation to farm labourers for damage to cotton crop and minimum wages of ` 15,000 per month for farm labourers.
Attributing farm suicides to poor economic policies of the state gover nment, a protester said, “Even power connections of farm labourers is being disconnected on flimsy pretexts.”
Seeking restoration of subsidies, the protesters also charged the central government with bowing before the developed countries, claiming it had decided to discontinue subsidies and other benefits for the agrarian community from 2017.
