Farmers protest against farm bills in Haryana

Chandigarh: Farmers in Haryana began their three-hour protest against the agriculture-related farm bills on Sunday.

The farmers started to gather at various places in the state amid elaborate security arrangements which have been made to ensure that the event passes off smoothly.

The Bharatiya Kisan Union’s Haryana unit, supported by some other farmer outfits, is holding a statewide protest against the Centre’s farm bills during which they will block roads for three hours from 12 pm to 3 pm.

The farmers are also joined by the ‘arhitiyas’ or commission agents during their protest.

The Punjab Youth Congress, meanwhile, is also taking out a ‘tractor rally’ from Punjab to Delhi against the Centre”s farm-related measures.

The rally started from Mohali district in the morning and was moving on the national highway towards Ambala.

However, the Haryana Police in Ambala had heavily barricaded the national highway and there was heavy police deployment on the Haryana-Punjab border, police department sources said.

On his way to join the tractor rally, Indian Youth Congress president Srinivas B V said his party stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the farmers and dubbed the farm reforms as “anti-farmers”.

Meanwhile, the Haryana government issued directions to ensure law and order, and minimise inconvenience to the people of the state during the protest from 12 noon to 3 pm on Sunday.

Executive magistrates have been directed to remain stationed along with their police counterparts at all such places where congregation of protestors is anticipated.

The Haryana Police was conducting patrolling of the national and state highways and important roads in various parts of the state, including Ambala, Kurukshetra, Sonipat, Jind, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar and Bhiwani.

Authorities said traffic will be diverted to alternative routes if the protest intensifies.

Days after their passage in the Lok Sabha, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar introduced the Farmer”s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 in the Rajya Sabha.

The bills are facing staunch opposition from farmer bodies as well as from within the ruling coalition.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the food processing minister from the Shiromani Akali Dal party, resigned from the government last week.