BATHINDA: Farmer organisation BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) continued gherao of the Bathinda district administrative complex (DAC) on Tuesday. All offices in the complex, including of inspector general of police (IG), deputy commissioner (DC), senior superintendent of police (SSP), could not function as no official and employee was allowed to enter the complex for the second day.
Though senior officials worked from their camp offices, all other employees had to return. Activists of the farm outfit blocked all four gates of the complex, after spending the night outside the complex. The farm organisation had made arrangements for food and sleep of the activists.
The farm outfit is demanding Rs 60,000 per acre as compensation for damage of cotton crop due to pink bollworm attack. It is also seeking compensation for farm labourers who lost job due to crop loss. It had earlier started an indefinite protest outside Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal’s house in Badal village but lifted it after 15 days. They have restarted the protest at DAC now.
“We have decided to sit outside DAC till the government concedes to our demand of fair compensation. It has been a month since chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi visited Bathinda villages and assured prompt compensation. But nothing has been done so far. Even girdawari (special revenue assessment) has not been completed. We want the government to act fast if it wants all offices to function,” said BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Kokri Kalan.
Later in the day, BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) announced to pull down all hoardings in towns and on buses where Channi has been shown claiming giving suitable compensation to farmers for cotton crop loss.
Bathinda deputy commissioner Arvindpal Singh said they were talking with the protesters to lift the blockade so that employees could work without any hindrance. “We have made alternate arrangements as all are working from different locations,” he said, adding that working could affect to some extent.
