As farmers under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) — the two umbrella bodies that are spearheading farmer’s agitation in Punjab continue their protest, a trade and industries body has appealed to its members to boycott supporting the farmers movement arguing huge losses to various sectors of industry in Punjab.
The farmers, who are squatting on a rail track in Punjab’s Shambhu village in Patiala district near the Punjab-Haryana border, demanding the release of three farmers arrested by the Haryana Police, meanwhile, asserted on Wednesday that if the Haryana government releases farmers they will lift the railway blockade immediately.
Since April 17, farmers have been squatting on the rail track, forcing the railway authorities to cancel, divert, and short-terminate several trains, disrupting rail movement, and causing inconvenience. Three farmers were arrested during the ongoing farmers’ stir. Farmers, since February 13, have been camping at Shambhu-Ambala and Khanauri-Jind – the inter-State boundary between Haryana and Punjab, after being stopped from entering Haryana. Farmers had earlier given the call for the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march to press for fulfillment of their demands, a legal guarantee for purchasing their crops at a Minimum Support Price (MSP) and a farm loan waiver are among the key ones.
