Dallewal’s hunger strike enters 48th day; farmers warn to intensifies protest

Chandigarh: The hunger strike led by farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal at the Khanauri border between Haryana and Punjab reached its 48th day on Sunday.

The protest took a tragic turn as an 80-year-old farmer, Jagga Singh, who had been fasting for 10 months, passed away at Rajindra Hospital in Patiala.

Singh, a resident of Faridkot, had been admitted after his health deteriorated. He is survived by five sons and a daughter.

Tributes will be paid to the deceased farmer at the Khanauri border today, following which his last rites will be performed in his native village, Godara.

Meanwhile, tensions are escalating in Haryana, where the Sarvajatiya Phogat Khap in Charkhi Dadri issued a warning to the central government.

The Khap has cautioned that if Dallewal loses his life during the hunger strike, the farmers’ agitation could turn violent with support from khap panchayats.

In a panchayat led by Suresh Phogat, the Khap’s president, an appeal was made to the Supreme Court to intervene and urge the government to end Dallewal’s hunger strike.

The ongoing agitation has brought renewed attention to the farmers’ demands.