COURTESY HT JAN 11

Back from Delhi border, farm labourers to protest in Punjab
Gurpreet Singh Nibber

gurpreet.nibber@hindustantimes.com

CHANDIGARH : Back from the ongoing farmer protests at the Delhi border, members of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union on Sunday announced to launch a statewide agitation in support of the demand for the repeal of the Centre’s three agriculture laws.

Union general secretary Lachmann Sewewala said that after they announce a plan in the state after the Lohri festival. “Nearly 7.5 lakh labourer families are involved in agricultural vocation with the farmers in the state and largely depend on them to earn their livelihood,” said Sewewala.

Nearly 1,500 farm labourers were part of the jatha (batch) that stayed for a week at the Tikri and Singhu protest sites.

Every section of society has got involved in the protests, Sewewala said. “We want our share in the public distribution system (PDS) and better wages and this does not seem to be happening under the new laws. The contract system will bring in mechanised farming and will push out a large number of farmhands,” said Sewewala. The BJP’s claims that the new laws will not impact the farm labourers are ill-founded. Their local leaders have already started a campaign by reaching out to us but we will counter their claims,” he added.

“We will run a statewide campaign and also take part in the ongoing farmer protests. We will raise many issues such as free power,” Sewewala said.

Union president Zora Singh Nasrali said their activists have been involved in the farmer protests since September. “But when the protest moved to the borders of the national capital, some of our activists were apprehensive of joining actively. Also, labourers were busy during paddy harvest and procurement,” he said.

“Besides demanding repeal of the farm laws, we are ready to fight for guaranteed employment for agricultural labourers, strengthening of the public distribution system and rollback of the electricity bill,” he added.