Farmers' protest call against lockdown gets tepid response in Bathinda, Mansa

Sameer Singh
Tribune News Service
Bathinda/Mansa, May 8

The farm unions call for protest against the lockdown has barely managed to leave the desired impact on the ground level of Bathinda and Mansa districts, as they had to adhere to strict restrictions of weekend lockdown.  

Markets in these districts remained shut throughout the day. 

After a call by Sanyukat Kisan Morcha, farm unions were to carry out the protest march, and rallies against the lockdown, and support traders to open their shops and outlets, but the latter did not comply with them.   

State president of Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal, Amit Kapoor, said: "We support farmers, but considering the ranging pandemic which has claimed several lives, we decided not to open shops when there were lockdown restrictions imposed by the government. We do not want to risk people's lives".

Although, farm unions—including BKU Ekta Ugrahan, BKU Sidhupur, BKU Lakhowal, BKU Dakonda and Punjab Kisan Union among dozens of others— unions carried out rallies, and marched in the city, in different blocks of these two districts against lockdown. 

Shopkeepers and traders' fraternity largely kept their shops closed. 

In a few instances, farmers have managed to help shopkeepers to open their shops, but the police intervened and closed down the shops. 

Farm union leaders said, that the lockdown restrictions affected the business of the traders' fraternity last year as well, and that they support traders to open their shops. Union leaders have also claimed that they managed to help shopkeepers to open their shops. 

A leader of BKU Sidhupur, Resham Singh Yatri, said: "We have managed to help shopkeepers to open their shops in Maur, Goniana, Rampura, and other areas before police forced them to close shops". 

He added: 

"If the government was aware that the second wave of coronavirus can come, then why did they not take requisite steps in time to counter it? The government wasted crucial times rather than augmenting medical infrastructure, and now it wants to impose lockdown again to harass people."

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Gurjit Singh Romana, said: "We had carried out a march in the city to keep round-the-clock vigil to make sure that lockdown restrictions imposed in wake of the rising number of COVID-19 cases are being duly adhered to. There was no shop opened in the Bathinda city."

Farm union leaders said that they would continue to exhort traders to open shops, and if the administration or police stop them, they will launch agitation against them.