DM Monitoring
BATHINDA: Farmers protesting against the three contentious farm laws completed 200 days on Sunday, but a newer and a bigger challenge confronts them now, saving activists from the onslaught of second and more severe Covid-19 wave.
Despite the steady increase in active caseload for over a month now, farmers and farm outfits have no plan to vacate the protest sites and are determined to continue on the path of confrontation.
One of the largest farm organisations of Punjab, BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), has given a call for farmers to join protests in large numbers on April 21. Haryana farmers have also given an ultimatum of closing down Bahadurgarh toll plaza on April 21.
Any whispers of growing concern regarding the spike in Covid cases are being put out with examples of lakhs being allowed to assemble for the Kumbh, big political rallies in West Bengal and so on.
“We are concerned about the safety of protesters, but we cannot afford to vacate the protest sites without the government repealing the farm laws. If we do (end protest) at this juncture, we are not sure of being able to get this momentum againyesterday,” said BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan.
We are taking precautions and also are ready for any onslaught, even if it is only against us and not against lakhs of people whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed in big rallies even yesterday,” said Kokri Kalan. “We are really concerned about the safety of protesters against this deadly wave of Covid and have been asking them to take every precaution, including wearing face masks and have even asked the government to set up vaccination centres at the protest sites. But we are not for vacating the protest sites and will not allow central or Haryana government to use force (to evict us),” added BKU (Dakaunda) vice-president Manjit Singh Dhaner. He pointed out that even the wheat harvesting and procurement season has not affected the protests as women have been a big support.
After October 1, 2020, when 30 farm organisations sounded the bugle of protests after the President put his signatures to turn the Acts into laws on September 27, farmers began protests at railway tracks, toll plazas, business establishments of some corporate houses including petrol stations of Reliance Group, and outside the residences of many BJP leaders across Punjab. There has been no let-up in the protest since then. Farmers ended protests on railway tracks to allow movement of trains, but have continued protests elsewhere and as per the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) claims, it has, so far,incurred a loss of more than Rs 600 crore due to the freeing of toll plazas. Farmers, on the other hand, claim over 300 of their brethren have lost lives during the protests.
At present, protests in Punjab are being held at 68 places by 30 farm organisations, while BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) has continued to hold them at 42 points, apart from the protests on the Delhi borders. “It may take many more months of protests and farmers are ready for the long and sustainable battle despite hardships, including Covid. The government is testing our patience, but farmers are, and will, remain in the high spirits,” claimed Kokri Kalan.
The Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Sunday said that the post-Covid lockdown data clearly reveals a poor performance in all sectors, barring the agriculture sector. The Centre had ignored farmers and labourers during the previous lockdown period but does not seem to have learnt any lesson as the situation of health services and social security in the country is the same as last year, the morcha activists said.
Migrant labourers may have to walk again and crops of farmers may also be destroyed, but they (farmers and migrant labourers) will not tolerate the oppressive instructions of the government, they added. The government should fight the rising pandemic instead of fighting the hardworking farmers and labourers, they said.
