A day before their agitation across Punjab, more than 300 farmers were taken into custody on Sunday as a precautionary measure by the Punjab Police.
Over 300 farmers were taken into custody ahead of their rail roko agitation on Monday in support of their demands, the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta), which is spearheading the stir, said. Activists of 17 different farmers’ organisations in Punjab would block rail traffic across the State from 12 pm to 4 pm on Monday, BKU (Ekta) general secretary Sukhdev said.
The farmers alleged exploitation on the pretext of presence of moisture in paddy which, they said, had forced them to sell their produce at lower prices. They asked the Centre to increase moisture content from 17 to 22 per cent. All precautionary measures had been taken ahead of Monday’s protest, officials said.