Jind: The farmers on Saturday blocked the Delhi-Patiala national highway near Tarkha Kothi village here to demand the rollback of new wheat procurement rules.The protesters blocked the road between 11 am and 3 pm and raised slogans against the govt.Police personnel were deployed around the protest site, while traffic was diverted via Safa Kheri and Dumarkha, even as long queues of vehicles were witnessed on both sides of the highway due to the blockade.The protesters said the new wheat procurement rules were presented as farmer-friendly, but in reality, these created difficulties for farmers. They demanded the withdrawal of the new norms so that the farmers could easily sell their produce in the mandis and return to their fields sooner.All India Kisan Sabha state president Balbir Singh said the highway was blocked against the govt’s “wrong decisions” on wheat procurement.He said the govt had imposed several conditions, including mandatory registration plates on tractors, driving licences, and the presence of the registered farmer, for the procurement.Farmers’ fingerprints are being taken and photographs uploaded on the portal. These requirements are causing inconvenience, said Balbir Singh. He questioned the introduction of these norms and sought their withdrawal.Balbir Singh said initially, the authorities had set a period of 14 hours for issuing the gate pass. After protests, it was later extended to 24 hours. The govt claimed these rules were beneficial to farmers, but no farmer was consulted. For days, farmers have been facing problems in mandis, he added.Seema Baddowala said the road blockade was a symbolic protest against procurement rules that were troubling farmers. She said wheat was the main source of savings for farmers and questioned the need for biometric verification when farmer details were already registered. Khaps and farmer organisations also joined the protest.Former president of Daran Khap, Surajbhan Ghaso, also opposed the new rules and questioned the biometric verification despite prior registration. He said gate pass norms should not be changed and referred to issues caused due to frequent internet shutdowns.He also raised concerns about the requirement of registering tractor and trolley numbers, saying farmers often share trolleys during harvesting.Ghaso demanded that procurement continue under the previously existing system based on crop registration.MSID:: 130193886 413 |
