Farmers block road for 6 hrs over delay in paddy procurement

Members of several farmers’ union today blocked the Chandigarh-Ambala National Highway near ITI Chowk, Lalru, in protest against the non-lifting of paddy in ‘mandis’.

Farmers blocked the road around 3pm and continued their protest well after 6pm. Later, administration officials assured the farmers that around 5,000 sacks of paddy would be procured tonight only.

Hundreds of protesting farmers squatted on the busy national highway, obstructing traffic for more than six hours.

Besides the National Highway, all village roads and link roads were clogged with chaotic traffic as commuters and passengers faced inconvenience for better part of the day.

Lalru, Dera Bassi and Zirakpur towns witnessed long queues of vehicles even as a handful of police personnel tried to regulate the traffic.

Leaders of BKU (Lakhowal), BKU (Sidhupur) and EKTA (Ugrahan) unions raised slogans and stated that farmers had been sitting in Lalru Mandi, Dhanoni, for the past 20 days, but their paddy was not being lifting.

Paddy procurement in the district was to begin from October 1, but it had been delayed due to a strike by commission agents.

The Superintendent of Police (SP), Deputy Superintendent of Police, Subdivisional Magistrate and other officials reached the spot to pacify the protesters.