Farmers’ three-day protest over FIRs begins tomorrow

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, January 18

Member of the BKU Ekta Ugrahan took out a protest march against the government at Deon village here on Saturday. They were demanding the cancellation of FIRs registered against farmers for burning paddy straw.

Notably, members of farmer unions have been holding meetings and taking out a march at different blocks of the district in their bid to mobilise support for the three-day agitation from January 20 in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office over the stubble burning cases.

Gurpal Singh Deon, block president of the union, said, “We took out a protest march in villages such as Deon, Buladewala, Burj Mehma, Mehma Bhagwana, Mehma Sarkari, Nihal Singhwala, Dan Singhwala, etc on Saturday.”

Lashing out at the state government, Deon said, “Though the government has failed to provide a viable solution or an alternative to stubble burning, it has registered cases against farmers who burnt paddy straw in the district. If a farmer is burning stubble, he is doing so out of compulsion as he does not have the money to afford high-tech mechanisation technique employed to manage paddy residue.”

Farmers said they had given a call for three-day agitations from January 20 for the cancellation of FIRs registered against farmers in the district.