SALUTE PUNJAB PEASANTRY FOR LAUNCHING HEROIC RESISTANCE ON JULY 26TH BY HARSH THAKOR

SALUTE PUNJAB PEASANTRY FOR LAUNCHING HEROIC RESISTANCE ON JULY 26TH TO STAGE PROTEST IN PARK.AND DEFYING POLICE REPRESSION.SET EXAMPLE TO ALL TOILING PEOPLE IN INDIA STRUGGLING FOR DEMANDS FOR 3 DAYS CONTINUOUSLY..RIGHT TO STRUGGLE HAS TO BE FOUGHT FOR AS SHOWN HERE AND DOES NOT EXIST IN THE CONSTITUTION.EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF HOW THE POLICE TRAMPLES ON AND SUPRESSES ORGANIZED PROTEST.UPTO 20000 FARMERS MOBILISED.MAXIMUM PARTICIPATION IN SANGRUR DISTRICT.STILL NO RESPONSE FROM GOVT.SALUTE HEROIC DEFIANCE OF PEASANTRY AGAINST ALL ODDS AND CONDEMN APATHY OF RULING GOVT IN NEGLECTING JUST DEMANDS .PEASANTS BECOMING LANDLESS EXPOSES THE SEMI-FEUDAL SYSTEM PREVAILING.MAY THE BURNING SPIRIT OF PEASANTRY LIVE FOREVER AND NOT BE SUBDUED. Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 26 Farmers, countering police efforts to foil their plan of agitation, today crossed barricades and entered into the park in front of the District Administrative Complex to launch their three-day protest. The farmers raised slogans against the government.

The police had cordoned off the area on GT Road to stop the farmers from entering into the park where they had earlier staged a protest for more than a month over their long-pending demands.
The farmers started the three-day protest at all district headquarters from today.

However, the police failed to prevent the farmers, who stopped the traffic on the other side of the GT Road.

On July 12, more than 200 farmers in the district were rounded up and later released by the police when they were on their way to enter the city and join the ongoing agitation on the 50th day.
On the 50th day of their agitation, the farmers had proposed to stop their agitation for a while but they could not protest then.

Again, they have started their protest over their demands, including waiver of debt of farmers and compensation to families of suicide victims.

The farmers will sit on round the clock protest till July 28 at the district headquarters.
Shingara Singh Mann, BKU Ugraha Bathinda president said, “Earlier, we announced that we would stage a protest on July 26, 27, and 28 at the district level but the police, in an undemocratic way, stopped us from staging peaceful protest this. However, their attempt was foiled. Our Constitution gives us the right to assemble peacefully and protest.”

“Earlier, we had protested from May 24 to July 11 here at this park in front of the district administrative office over our demands, including compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to suicide victim families; survey of suicides from 1990 onwards; release of motor connections to farmers on government expenses; and full compensation of Rs 40,000 per acre to farmers who faced damage to the cotton crop following the whitefly attack,” he said.

“Our other demands included making laws in favour of farmers instead of corporate houses or arhtiyas; Rs 40,000 as compensation for the damaged wheat crop due to fire caused by short-circuit of wires as a few farmers whose crop was burnt had reportedly committed suicide; round the clock electricity supply ahead of the paddy season; quashing of false cases against the protesting farmers; compensation to those injured or dead during farmers’ agitation; and implementation of the Swaminathan report as farming is becoming a non-profitable profession,” Shingara Singh Mann added. Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 27 Farmers continued with their round-the-clock protest on the second day today at a park opposite the District Administrative Complex over their long-pending demands.
They will submit a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner by tomorrow, the last day of their protest.

The farmer leaders claimed that due to continuing debt rise among the farmers, about 15 to 18 per cent of them had become landless, either doing labour or farming on contract.

“It’s an official data that in the last many years, more than 4 lakh farmers have turned landless. But we had earlier conducted the survey in a few villages of Bathinda, including Poohla and Kotda, where we counted that about 15 to 18 per cent farmers had turned landless. They are either forced to do labour or other work or they do contract-based farming. Due to failure of crops, many committed suicide,” the leaders said.

“The land for farmer is everything, but the increasing debt has taken away the land of farmers. Farming is no longer a profitable occupation, rather farmers have to face losses and debt burden,” the leaders added.
Yesterday, the police cordoned off the area on GT Road to prevent the farmers from entering into the park where they had earlier staged a protest for nearly 49 days.
However, the police failed to prevent the farmers, who crossed the barricades and entered into the park to launch their protest.

The farmers will sit on protest till tomorrow.

Shingara Singh Mann, BKU Ugrahan Bathinda president said, “We will give a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner tomorrow, on the last day of our protest. We earlier announced that we would stage protest on July 26, 27 and 28 at the district level but the police, in an undemocratic way, prevented us from doing so.”

“Earlier, we had protested from May 24 to July 11 at this park over our long-pending demands that include waiving of the debt of farmers and farm labourers, who are unable to pay their loans; paying of compensation of Rs 5 lakh each immediately to suicide victim families; survey of suicides from 1990 onwards; release of motor connections to farmers on government expenses; full compensation of Rs 40,000 per acre to farmers who faced damage to the cotton crop following the whitefly attack; making laws in favour of farmers instead of corporate houses or arhtiyas; Rs 40,000 per acre as compensation for the damaged wheat crop due to fire followed caused due to short circuit of wires as a few farmers whose crop was burnt had reportedly committed suicide; quashing of false cases against the protesting farmers; compensation to those injured or dead during farmer agitation; and implementation of the Swaminathan report.” Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 28 Farmers concluded their three-day protest, held to press for their long-pending demnads, today and handed over a memorandum to the Additional Deputy Commissioner in the absence of Deputy Commissioner.

They claimed that all farmer unions of the state would hold a state-level meeting in the first week of August to plan the next course of action.

The farmers had been holding protest at the park opposite the District Administrative Complex.
Farmers were stopped by the police on July 26 from entering the park and staging protest as the authorities wanted them to gather at Children’s Park for the agitation.
The farmers remained adamnat on their stand and entered the park.

Earlier, they had protested from May 24 to July 11 at this park over their demands that included waiving of the debt of farmers and farm labourers, who are unable to pay their loans; paying of compensation of Rs 5 lakh each immediately to suicide victim families; survey of suicides from 1990 onwards; release of motor connections to farmers on government expenses; compensation of Rs 40,000 per acre to farmers who faced damage to the cotton crop following the whitefly attack; making laws in favour of farmers instead of corporate houses or arhtiyas; Rs 40,000 as compensation for the damaged wheat crop due to fire caused by short circuit of wires as a few farmers whose crop was burnt had reportedly committed suicide; quashing of false cases against the protesting farmers and compensation to those injured or dead during farmer agitation; and implementation of the Swaminathan report.

Shingara Singh Mann, BKU Ugrahan Bathinda president said,

“We gave a memorandum to the Additional Deputy Commissioner in the absence of the Deputy Commissioner today. We have been protesting democratically to get our demands fulfilled but the government has not heeded our demands. We will plan the next course of action in our meeting proposed to be held in the first week of August.”