SKM leads protests against 'tardy' paddy procurement in Punjab

    Ludhiana/Kapurthala, Oct 25 (PTI) Farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Friday blocked roads for four hours at many places in Punjab to protest against the "tardy" procurement and lifting of paddy.
    The protests led to traffic disruptions, causing inconvenience to the commuters on the highways at several places. A few commuters were also seen arguing with the agitators over the road blockades.
    SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said, "The AAP government in Punjab and the BJP-led Central government are equally responsible for this mess."
    Stating that politics of blame game should not be played at the cost of the farmers and the economy of Punjab, Rajewal said both the state government and the Centre must rise to the occasion and perform their duties honestly in the interest of the farmers and the country.
    In Ludhiana, the protesting farmers took to the streets at several places, including in Samrala, Khanna, Doraha, Machhiwara, Jagraon, Mullanpur and Raikot.
    In Kapurthala, the agitating farmers blocked traffic on the Jalandhar-Amritsar national highway in Hamira, the Dhilwan toll plaza, the Kapurthala-Goindwal road near Mundi Maur village, and the Kapurthala-Sultanpurlodhi road near the new grain market.
    The protesters also accused the private traders of fleecing the farmers by offering them rates lesser than the minimum support price.
    Punjab Kisan Union (Baghi) General Secretary Gurdeep Singh said protests were held at several places in Kapurthala district from 11 am to 3 pm.
    The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) also held protests outside 11 shopping malls to register their protest against the tardy paddy lifting.
    In Hoshiarpur, the protesting farmers blocked traffic at the Rahimpur Chowk on Hoshiarpur-Phagwara road, condemning both the Centre and state government for their "failure" to ensure smooth paddy procurement.
    Protests were also held at Hajipur Chowk on the Jalandhar-Pathankot national highway and in front of the Pandori Mayal grain market on Dosarka-Hariana road.
    In Amritsar, the farmers staged a protest in front of the office of the district mandi officer in Bhagatwala besides blocking the highway at Kukrawala near Ajnala town.
    Meanwhile, the indefinite protest by farmers under the banner of Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba) in Phagwara entered its fifth day on Friday.
    BKU(D) General Secretary Satnam Singh Sahni said a massive rally and demonstration will be held there on Saturday.
    BKU(D) is a constituent of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), which said on Thursday that it would block roads at a few places in the state for an indefinite period from October 26 to protest against the lapses in paddy procurement and other issues.
    Notably, paddy lifting from the mandis in Punjab has been hit after the state's rice millers refused to mill the crop till their demands were met.
    To break the ice, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and urged him to address the issues facing the state's rice millers.
    While Punjab's ruling Aam Aadmi Party has blamed the BJP-led Centre for not evacuating foodgrain stock to make space for storing fresh crop, the opposition parties, including the Congress and the Akali Dal, have lashed out at the Mann government over slow paddy procurement and lifting.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)