Punjab came to a standstill on Wednesday after hundreds of farmers sat on a dharna against the Bhagwant Mann-led government. Farmers, led by Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba) and many others, blocked a stretch of a highway in Punjab's Jalandhar on Tuesday. As a result, the Police had to barricade the Jalandhar-Ludhiana National Highway. However, to keep vehicles going, the Police opened the service lane on Tuesday. However, the protesting farmers on Wednesday morning totally blocked the highway cutting multiple city routes. As a result, the cops and district administration had to announce diverted routes for common people so that they could go to their homes, offices, schools, etc.
Amid the farmers' protest, many people wondered what are the demands of the farmers or why are the farmers protesting against the Punjab government on such a big scale. Below is what we know about farmers' protest reasons-
1) Sugarcane Price
There are multiple demands of protesting farmers. Among the many demands, one is the price increase of sugarcane. As per farmers the state government has not announced amended or increased sugarcane prices till now despite the administration being informed about the issue. One of the farmers union leaders was quoted saying that sugarcane crushing has also not started yet. As per the farmer leader, the state government had promised to resolve their issues by calling a meeting on November 16 but it was canceled. As per reports, a total of 22 farmers' unions have joined hands to protest against the government till Wednesday.
To be precise, farmers under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara section of the Jalandhar-New Delhi National Highway near Dhanowali village for an indefinite period. Not only this, the farmer leaders have given an ultimatum that if their demands are not met by Wednesday evening they will start 'Rail Roko Andolan' that will disrupt Railway services.
As per reports, the protesting farmers put up a tent in the middle of the road and spent the night on the highway demanding an increase in the assured prices of sugarcane from Rs 380 per quintal to Rs 450 per quintal.
2) Stubble Burning
Another reason why the farmer unions are protesting is the issue of stubble burning. Several farmer bodies in Punjab on Monday held protests at the offices of deputy commissioners and sub-divisional magistrates at many places, seeking the withdrawal of cases registered against farmers for stubble burning. The protesting farmers also demanded a long-lasting solution for paddy straw. Notably, the agitating farmers brought stubble-laden trolleys to several offices of DCs and SDMs. Monday's protest took place for four hours.
Apart from increasing sugarcane prices and rollback of fines and cases registered against farmers for stubble burning, they also demanded a fair compensation for land acquisition under the Bharatmala projects.
It is pertinent to mention here that paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is considered one of the reasons behind the rise in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November. A report suggests that over 930 FIRs had been registered against farmers for burning stubble since November 8, besides, a fine of Rs 1.67 crore had been imposed in 7,405 cases and red entries were made in the revenue records of 340 farmers.
It is pertinent to mention here that a few days back the Punjab Police registered a case against some farmers in Bathinda after they stopped a government official who was part of a team to prevent farm fires and forced him to burn a heap of stubble. The government official had gone to fields to ask farmers not to burn the paddy straw but the farmers forced him to light the straw with a matchstick. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann had condemned the incident.
Reacting to farmers protesting and blocking the road, Punjab CM Mann appealed union leaders to not make the common people their enemy. "My request to the farmer unions is not to turn common people against you by blocking roads for every issue. For holding talks with the government, there is Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh, the Secretariat, the office of the agriculture minister and my office and residence but not the roads. If this attitude remains, then the day is not far when you will not find people for ‘dharnas’… understand the feelings of people,” said Mann in a post on X in Punjabi.