PUNJAB JAMS NORTH INDIA

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PUNJAB JAMS NORTH INDIA

Tuesday, 31 December 2024 | Pioneer News Service | Chandigarh / New Delhi

PUNJAB JAMS NORTH INDIA

Life was hit across Punjab due to a ‘bandh’ imposed by farmers who have been agitating against the Centre for a legal guarantee of a minimum support price for their crops. Rail and road traffic was crippled and commercial establishments remained shut in several places of the State. Farmers staged ‘dharnas’ on several roads and highways including in Patiala, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Bathinda, and Pathankot as part of their bandh call from 7 am to 4 pm, throwing commuter traffic out of gear.

A call for a statewide shutdown was given over a week ago by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha over the Centre not acting on the farmers’ demand for a legal guarantee for the MSP. The bandh was also enforced to express solidarity with farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal who has been on a fast for the last 35 days at Khanauri border protest site of farmers.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court would on December 31 examine Punjab Government’s measures to provide treatment to the ailing farmer leader. A team of the Punjab Government officials on December 29 attempted to persuade the septuagenarian to take medical aid, but he declined it, fearing use of forces to oust him from the protest site.

A high-level team of Punjab Government officials had met Dallewal requesting him to accept medical treatment irrespective of the fast continuing. A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and Sudhanshu Dhulia would hear the matter virtually at around 11 am on December 31. On December 28, the top court came down heavily on the Punjab Government for not moving Dallewal to a hospital and doubted the intention of the agitating farmers for resisting the administration of medical aid to their ailing leader.

The Bench, however, gave the State Government time till December 31 to persuade Dallewal to move him to a hospital, giving it the liberty to seek logistical support from the Centre, if the situation warranted.

The Punjab Government said it was facing a huge resistance from the protesting farmers who had encircled Dallewal and prevented him from being taken to a hospital.

On Monday, farmers observed a sit-in at Dhareri Jattan Toll Plaza which affected vehicular movement on the Patiala-Chandigarh National Highway. At Amritsar’s Golden Gate, scores of farmers staged a dharna near the city’s entry point. Police there assisted some stranded foreign tourists by arranging auto rickshaws for them to reach the Golden Temple.

Farmers squatted on tracks at many places, forcing the railways to cancel several trains passing through the state and short-terminated or short-originated some trains. In Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Bathinda, passengers were seen stranded at stations. In Phagwara, farmers staged a dharna near the Sugarmill Crossing on NH-44, blocking the roads leading from Phagwara towards Nakodar, Hoshiarpur, and Nawanshahr.

Grain markets were shut in several places across the State. In the Mohali district, farmers staged a dharna at a few points throwing normal movement of vehicular traffic out of gear. Public transport remained off roads at several places, while most private bus operators suspended services, abiding by the bandh call. Many long-distance private buses and trucks carrying fruits and vegetables were held up due to the bandh.

Kapurthala and Jalandhar also observed the bandh with all commercial establishments there remaining closed. Langars of tea and ‘daal-parshada’ were arranged for the protesters. The bandh’s impact was also seen in some neighbouring areas of the state, including Ambala. Hundreds of daily commuters travelling from Ambala to Chandigarh, Mohali, Patiala and other nearby cities of Punjab were thrown off stride because of the shutdown. Buses took alternate routes to go from Ambala to Chandigarh as they had to cross a stretch of the national highway that passes through Punjab.

Farmers, under the banner of SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13, after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces. A “jatha” (group) of 101 farmers attempted to march to Delhi on foot three times between December 6 and 14 but were stopped by security personnel from Haryana.

Besides the MSP, farmers are also demanding a debt waiver, pension, no hike in electricity tariffs, withdrawal of police cases, and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

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