- विज्ञापन -
Chandigarh: Under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), farmers are preparing to hold a permanent sit-in in Chandigarh from March 5 over their various demands. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has called a meeting with SKM leaders today. This meeting will be held at Punjab Bhawan at 4 pm, in which issues related to farmers will be discussed.
However, the farmers will gather at Kisan Bhawan in Chandigarh at 12 noon, after which they will leave to meet the Chief Minister in the evening. If the demands are agreed upon in the meeting, the farmers will announce a change in the further strategy of their struggle after the meeting.
There will be mainly three points in the meeting-
Farmers have included a total of 17 demands in their list for the meeting with the government. Out of these, 13 demands are such that the government has already assured to fulfill them. These demands include forming a sub-committee of the government and farmers to look into the demands of the farmers, starting a one-time settlement scheme for NABARD loans of farmers on the lines of government departments, waiving the bills of motors installed on the Sirhind feeder canal from January 1, 2023, distributing case-free land in every village from January 2024 to April 13, 2024, the government will find a solution regarding stray animals and dogs.
These include issuing rifle licences to farmers to prevent damage to crops by animals, issuing prepaid electricity meters, ban on forced supply of nano packaging and other products to farmers, compensation for damage to sugarcane crop due to floods, lifting of ban on opening new accounts in cooperative societies, formation of sub-committees to address demands of settlers and sugarcane farmers, Water Research Act passed by the Punjab government and National Education Policy 2020.
compensation for damage to crops
The recent hailstorm and rain has caused heavy damage to crops in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Mustard and wheat crops have been badly affected, especially in Amritsar in Punjab, Ambala in Haryana and border areas of Rajasthan.
The leaders of Shambhu Morcha have demanded from the state and central government that just as drones and satellite technology are used to monitor stubble burning, in the same way the damage to crops should also be assessed immediately on a scientific basis. He said that farmers should be given proper compensation without delay and crop insurance companies should be roped in to conduct girdawari in the affected areas.
