Chandigarh, June 4: With protesting farmers continuing to disrupt milk and vegetables supplies to the cities, at certain areas reportedly using force, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh accused the Centre of being indifferent to their demands.
The Chief Minister was reacting to Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh calling the farmers’ protests a mere publicity stunt. In a statement, Capt Amarinder said while the farmers were resorting to extreme steps out of sheer desperation and the masses were reeling under spiralling prices, “Radha Mohan clearly has no qualms about showing lack of sensitivity to their problems.”
Meanwhile, there were reports of violence in Fazilka where Maninder Rai, inspector of a cooperative society, was allegedly thrashed. He was admitted to the local civil hospital. Rai said he and his brother were on their way to Abohar when they were attacked by a mob and robbed of Rs 5,000 and a gold chain.
On Sunday, tension prevailed at Chaurianwali village on the outskirts of Fazilka when requests by activists of the BKU (Ekta Sidhupura) not to supply milk to nearby towns were turned down by a minority community.
In Muktsar, vegetable growers bringing their produce to the town were allegedly detained for two hours by some farmers.
“The protesters released us after two hours. They took us out of the town and threw our vegetables into a water channel. We are poor and have a small piece of land on contract. We can’t meet our daily expenses without selling vegetables,” said one of them.
Some vegetable growers reported the matter to the city police station but to no avail. Expressing helplessness, SHO Tejinder Pal Singh, said there was little that the police could do. “But if anyone violates the law, we will take action.”
The farmers shut down the Verka milk plant and its booths in Patiala city. They closed the main gates of the milk plant on the Sirhind road. Earlier in the morning, Verka officials had locked the gates on the request of the protesting farmers to stop private milk supply vehicles from entering the plant. However, the plant restarted the sale in the afternoon.
Irked, the farmers protested outside the plant for three hours. Verka officials claimed they had sufficient milk supply for now but the situation could worsen if the farmers’ protest continued.
A report from Nabha said Amloh MLA Randeep Singh on Sunday said that Union Government must address the problems being faced by the farmers across the country by fulfilling its poll promises. Nabha said the Centre should formulate policies to ensure better remuneration to farmers especially in Punjab.
The Centre had ignored Punjab’s contribution to foodgrain production, he said, adding that it must guarantee minimum income to small and marginal farmers. He said the implementation of Swaminathan Commission report would solve the problem to a large extent
Farmers are maintaining round-the-clock supervision to stop the supply of milk and vegetables to cities. Teams of 10-15 farmers carrying sticks have been deputed at almost all entry and exit points of towns, including Sangrur, Sunam, Dhuri, Malerkotla, Dirba, Bhawanigarh, Barnala, Tapa, Bhadaur and others.
“We do not want to fight with anyone, but milkmen are creating problems. We have already clarified that anyone can purchase milk and vegetables from villages, but there will be no supply to cities,” said Major Singh Changal, BKU leader.
Meanwhile, vegetable growers and milkmen are finding ways to dodge protesters. “I have started supplying milk in my SUV in Sangrur city because farmers are checking milk vans,” said Gurmale Singh of Mangwal village.
Inputs from The Tribune
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