Where’s waiver, ask farmers at dharna near Sidhu’s house

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 19

Demanding a complete loan waiver, members of the Kisan Sangharsh Committee (KSC) today held a dharna in front of the residence of Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The dharna, which continued for four hours, was lifted after the district administration assured the protesters of arranging their meeting with the CM.

Addressing the protesters, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher accused the CM of not meeting his major poll promise of writing off farmers’ loan. He claimed that the government had promised to waive the entire Rs 90,000-crore advances of farmers.

Pandhar said waiving just Rs 2 lakh loan per farmer was a joke given the fact that the NDA-led Union Government waived Rs 2 lakh crore debt of 12 large corporate houses.

He said farmers were forced to commit suicides as they did not receive adequate remuneration for their crops. He claimed that a study conducted by Punjab Agricultural University stated that the farmers spent Rs 2,050 for a quintal of paddy, but got just Rs 1,625 per quintal in return.

Another farmer leader Gurbachan Chabba said other promises like a job to each household, drug-free state, Rs 2,500 monthly allowance to unemployed etc were also not implemented.

The protesters lifted their dharna after Sidhu’s wife Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu and officials of the district administration intervened.

Earlier, police failed to prevent the protesters from going ahead as they crossed over the barricades installed 50 m away from the minister’s residence.

MLA joins farmers’ protest

Tarn Taran: Farmers under the banner of Kisan Sangharash Committee (KSC) staged a dharna outside the residence of local MLA Dr Dharambir Agnihotri. The MLA too sat in the dharna for some time and received the memorandum from the farmer’s body in order to pacify them. oc