CHANDIGARH, Oct 6: Farmers’ body Kisan Mazdoor Morcha on Monday held protests at many places in Punjab to demand immediate compensation for flood-hit farmers.
They also lashed out at the state government for taking action against farmers for stubble burning, and burnt effigies of the union government and the Punjab government as part of their protest.
Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said farmers are demanding compensation for extensive losses suffered during the recent floods in the state.
He demanded that the government pay at least Rs 70,000 per acre to farmers for the damage of paddy crop during the deluge.
“Ten percent of it should be given to farm labourers,” Pandher, who led the protest in Amritsar, said.
Pandher also sought 100 percent compensation for the loss of livestock and poultry farms.
Protesting farmers further demanded that full compensation be given to those whose houses were damaged due to the floods.
He demanded that the state government should provide seeds and fertilizers for sowing of the wheat crop.
More time should be given to farmers for removing sand and silt deposited in agricultural fields in flood-affected areas, he said.
Punjab faced one of its worst floods in decades, primarily due to the swollen Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers, along with seasonal rivulets resulting from heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Furthermore, heavy rains in Punjab exacerbated the flooding situation.
Pandher also lashed out at the state government for action against farmers for stubble burning.
He said FIRs are being registered, red entries are being made in land records and fines are being imposed on farmers for farm fires.All these should be stopped.
The farmer leader said the state government should give Rs 200 a quintal or Rs 6,000 per acre to farmers for the management of crop residue.
Pandher said if the government did not stop crackdown against farmers for stubble burning, then it would intensify their agitation.
Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is often blamed for the rise in air pollution in Delhi after harvesting of the paddy crop in October and November.
As the window for the Rabi crop — wheat — is very short after paddy harvest, some farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue for sowing the next crop.
On the call of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, other farmer bodies, including Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Azad), BKU (Krantikari), BKU (Doaba) and Kisan Mazdoor Hitkari Sabha, also participated in the protest. (PTI)
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