Farmers protest ‘loot’ by traders
Upset over “loot” of farmers in Punjab mandis after the governments (both Centre and State) failed to make foolproof procurement system for purchase of moong and maize crops, hundreds of farmers under the banner of ‘Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), held a protest at the office of the Market Committee in grain market here.
The protesters burnt effigy of the Centre and the state government.
The protesting farmers and SKM leaders vowed to continue the agitation till the farmers in Punjab, who were forced to sell their moong and maize crops below the minimum support price (MSP), were adequately compensated for the difference in MSP and the price paid for the produce by traders and private agencies.
While addressing the media, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) general secretary Harinder Singh Lakhowal claimed that similar protests were held at Amritsar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar to make the voice of the farmers heard at the concerned quarters.
Addressing the gathering, Lakhowal, a member of the state committee of SKM, charged the government with betrayal of farmers.
“In the name of diversification, the state government made a vast majority of farmers to go for cultivation of moong and maize crops, and the Modi government also became a part of the conspiracy to cheat the farmers by announcing MSP and committing to procure both crops,” he alleged.
Asserting that both the AAP and BJP governments were anti-farmer, the leaders of farmers’ bodies observed that both Centre and state government backed out at the time of procurement and left the farmers at the mercy of the traders.
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