After virtually bringing Punjab to the halt, the farmers organisations have once again decided to continue their agitation against the SAD-BJP Government from November 4 to 6 in support of their demands, including compensation for crop damage.
Several farmers’ unions, including Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta) and farm labourers, on Monday announced that they will resume their agitation from November 4 in support of their demands.
Rallies and dharnas would be staged in front of district administrative complexes in Amritsar and Moga from November 4 to 6, said BKU (Ekta) general secretaries Joginder Singh and Sukhdev Singh.
The two leaders held a meeting with the activists of eight farmers' unions, they said. They alleged that the Punjab Government is not serious regarding farmers, demands for which their organizations had launched seven-day 'Rail Roko stir earlier.
The leaders declared that if State Government failed to concede to their demands, the farmers' union would hold an urgent meeting on November 7 to chalk out next line of action.
They said that farmers were demanding `40,000 per acre compensation for damage caused to cotton crop due to the white fly pest attack.
Other demands include `20,000 compensation to farm labourers, `five lakh compensation to the families of farmers who committed suicide and clearance of sugar mills due, they said.
The farmers had launched a ‘Rail Roko’ agitation against the Parkash Singh Badal Government to demand for higher compensation. Initially, the agitation was for two days, October 7-8, but continued till October 12 virtually throwing the public life out of gear.
They called off their rail blockade agitation on October 13, but decided to gherao all state ministers, ruling party MlAs, other party leaders.
Their agitation was against the State Government for non-acceptance of all of their demands, including higher compensation for cotton crop loss.