Chandigarh: Farmers under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta) Sidhupur/Dallewal on Tuesday staged protests across Punjab by making several toll plazas toll-free as part of a statewide agitation against the Punjab Government.
The union had announced that toll plazas across the state would remain free for commuters from 11 am to 4 pm, with farmers setting up sit-ins at multiple locations.
At the Azizpur Toll Plaza on the Banur-Zirakpur National Highway, farmers lifted toll collection and began a protest led by state leaders Maan Singh Rajpura, Tarlochan Singh Nandiali, Gurmeet Singh Siau and other union members. Protesters raised slogans against the Punjab Government while reiterating their demands.
Meanwhile, under the call of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, BKU (Dallewal) members also suspended toll collection at the Dharehri Jattan Toll Plaza on the Patiala-Rajpura road. District convener Jagdeep Singh Aloona criticised the government’s policies during the demonstration.
The protesting farmers demanded the withdrawal of the state’s land pooling policy, action over alleged irregularities in Land Mortgage Banks and Primary Agricultural Development Banks (PADBs), the introduction of a One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme for farmers’ loans, and the scrapping of the proposed US-India Trade Agreement, which they described as anti-farmer.
