Amritsar: On the second day of its agitation outside Punjab ministers’ residences, the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) on Tuesday announced plans to intensify the stir, with its leadership set to meet in Amritsar on Wednesday to review the govt’s response and decide the next course of action.KMM leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said protests were being held at eight locations across Punjab, with farmers, farm workers and their families camping at the sites. A ninth protest would begin in Patiala on Wednesday.Pandher said the Amritsar meeting could take “major decisions” and announce an intensified phase if the govt failed to initiate meaningful dialogue and address their demands.The KMM is seeking a legal guarantee for procurement of five crops at MSP, complete debt relief for farmers and workers, compensation for losses during the 401-day Shambhu-Khanauri agitation, govt jobs for families of farmers who died during the protests and compensation for those injured. It has also sought restoration of goods and tractor-trolleys allegedly seized from the protest sites.Other demands include withdrawal of police, railway and other cases registered during farmers’ movements, including stubble-burning cases; resolution of Punjab’s river-water dispute on the riparian principle; withdrawal of the Land Pooling Policy; and an end to forcible acquisition of agricultural land for the Bharatmala project.The morcha has also demanded ownership rights for tenant/settler farmers, measures to tackle Punjab’s drug crisis and permanent employment for youth. Pandher said the agitation would remain peaceful but protesters would not withdraw without their grievances being addressed.
