Farm organisations agitating against the central agri-marketing laws have urged residents of Punjab to oppose the Covid-induced lockdown by converging on the roads on May 8.
Covid India: Farmer unions encourage people to ignore curbs
Web report/New Delhi
Farmers shout slogans during a protest in Amritsar, Punjab. Photo: AFP
Leaders accuse government of creating panic under the guise of a second Covid wave.
In what could pose a major challenge for the Indian government and authorities in many northern states, battling the raging Covid crisis, a group of farmer unions in Punjab has decided to encourage people including shopkeepers and traders to ignore the curbs and the lockdowns and also join a protest march to the outskirts of Delhi.
Leaders of 32 farmer unions met under the leadership of Baldev Singh Nihalgarh on Thursday at the Singhu border near Delhi and accused the government of creating a panic under the guise of a second Covid wave.
Lockdown Declared To Weaken Protests, Claim Farmer Leaders
The leaders called upon farmers to send at least one family-member to protest sites at Delhi beginning May 10
Farmer leaders addressing media May 05, 2021
Farmer leaders protesting at Delhi borders seeking a repeal of the new agriculture laws called for defying the lockdown declared by many state governments to control spread of COVID-19 infection. They called upon people to open shops on Saturday, May 8.
“Lockdown is being implemented to weaken the farmers’ movement. It’s not a remedy. It’s affecting business. The government should rather formulate a strong policy,” said farmer leader Baldev Singh Nihalgarh addressing media at protest site.
Remain peaceful: Tikait
“From 12 noon to 4 p.m., farmers will stop trains by going to the nearest railway station. They will welcome the trains with flower garlands and then communicate with passengers. They will also provide water, milk and tea to the passengers,” said Bharatiya Kisan Union-Tikait leader Rakesh Tikait, on the eve of the protest. He appealed to the farmers to remain peaceful and to commuters to take time to listen to the farmers’ demands.
“A successful rail roko will force the government to break the deadlock,” said Kul Hind Kisan Sabha leader Baldev Singh Nihalgarh.
A three-hour chakka jam or road blockade on February 6 saw the most extensive response in Punjab and Haryana, where the agitation has been most widespread and long-lasting. A number of other States saw some large gatherings in scattered locations but failed to have mass impact.
Punjab unions cancel mahapanchayats, urge farmers to return to Delhi
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Move comes as crowds dwindle at protest sites outside Delhi
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Crowds of farmers seen thinning out at a protest site in Delhi on February 16, 2021.
| Photo Credit:
Sandeep Saxena
Move comes as crowds dwindle at protest sites outside Delhi
With the crowds of Punjab farmers starting to thin out at the Singhu and Tikri protest sites on the Delhi-Haryana border, Punjab’s farmers union leaders have decided to cancel plans for large mahapanchayat gatherings in their State and mobilise people to come to Delhi instead. They hope that large mobilisation for a countrywide rail roko protest on Friday will prove a turning point in their demands for the Centre to repeal three farm reform laws and give them a legal guarantee for remunerative prices.