BKU begins ‘pucca morchas’ near premises of leaders

Protesting against alleged tardy paddy procurement and lifting, activists of the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) today began “pucca morchas” near the residence of BJP’s Barnala bypoll candidate Kewal Singh Dhillon and AAP candidate Harinder Singh Dhaliwal’s election office in Barnala.

They also raised slogans against the state government and the Centre for not fulfilling the promises made to the farmers.

State president of the union Joginder Singh Ugrahan said CM Bhagwant Mann had promised that every grain of the PR-126 variety of paddy would be purchased, but now farmers were facing harassment in selling that. They were also not being given Rs 200 per quintal for the management of paddy straw, he added.

Ugrahan said the farmers were assured that their entire paddy crop with even more than 17 per cent moisture content would be procured, but now that was not being done. He expressed concern over the shortage of DAP fertiliser. The shortage had been created by corporate houses only to harass farmers, he alleged.

Other leaders also criticised the state government for allegedly not paying attention to the problems being faced by farmers. On the other hand, the authorities had been registering cases against farmers for burning paddy straw, they added. The Centre had been stating that it had given Rs 40,000 crore to the Punjab Government for paddy procurement. Despite that, the state’s procurement agencies had not been purchasing paddy, they said.

Prominent among those present at the protest sites were district president Chamkaur Singh Nainewal, state vice-president Roop Singh Chhanna, Kamaljit Kaur Barnala, Balaur Singh Chhanna, Bukan Singh Saidewal and Binderpal Kaur Bhadaur.