Amritsar/Hoshiarpur, September 22
Farmers in Punjab held dharnas in many places on Friday to demand adequate compensation for losses suffered during the recent floods.
Farmers gathered in Amritsar in response to a call from the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and organised a protest in front of the deputy commissioner’s office to press for fair compensation.
Balkar Singh Dudhala, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha spokesperson, said in a statement that different outfits gathered under its banner to demand that the Punjab and the central governments provide compensation of Rs 1.68 lakh per acre for the crops damaged during the floods.
The farmers also demanded compensation to level the soil that rose due to floodwater entering the fields. They want another Rs 1 lakh compensation for each animal killed during the floods, he said.
The floods in July and August caused massive damage to crops and property, the farmers said.
Before dispersing from the protest sites, the farmers submitted memorandums on their charter of demands to the respective deputy commissioners.
Several farmers’ organisations in Hoshiarpur held a dharna for over three hours in front of the district administrative complex to demand compensation from both the state and the Union governments.
They were led by Harbans Singh Sangha, the general secretary of the Kisan Committee Doaba Punjab.
All the speakers who addressed the gathering expressed dissatisfaction with the central and the state governments for “turning a deaf ear” to the farmers’ demands. They also warned of intensifying the protest if their demands are not met.
In Ludhiana, hundreds of farmers gathered at the call of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and sat on a dharna in front of the deputy commissioner’s office.
They demanded a special package to compensate for the huge losses caused by the floods.
The protesters were addressed by Avtar Singh Mahalon of the Bharti Kisan Union (Lakhowal), Raghubir Singh Benipal of the Jamhoori Insaf Morcha and Baldev Singh Latala of Kul Hind Kissan Sabha, among others.