Farmers lift blockade at Chandigarh-Mohali border after AAP-led Punjab govt accepts most demands

Farmers who had been holding a ‘pucca morcha’ on the Chandigarh-Mohali border for the last 24 hours postponed their agitation after the AAP-led Punjab government accepted most of their demands on Wednesday.

This came in the wake of a two-and-a-half hour long meeting held by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann with leaders of 23 kisan unions.

The government and farmer leaders reportedly reached a compromise after 12 of 13 demands were accepted by the government.

However, their demand for a compensation of Rs 500 per quintal for such farmers whose wheat yield dropped because of intense heat wave remains unaddressed.

After the meeting, cabinet minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal reached the morcha site and addressed the protesting farmers. He assured the farmers that the government has accepted a majority of their demands.

Both the sides reached a consensus that the paddy could be sown from June 14 now instead of June 10 as announced by the government. The farmers having fields across the fence on the international borders will go in for paddy sowing from June 10.

The minister announced that the government has issued a notification on MSP for moong. He also assured MSP for maize and other crops too.

“Chief Minister Mann will meet the Union Home Minister on the issue of bonus (Rs 500 per quintal) to the farmers soon. The government has also decided not to install pre-paid chip based electric meters across the state. There will be no monetary recover from the farmers and cases against 22000 farmers would be withdrawn,” claimed Dhaliwal.

The minister claimed to have called a meeting of the farmer leaders and prominent persons of villages to discuss the issue of recovery of encroached government land in villages across the state. Senior officials of the revenue department will hold meetings with the farmer leaders, he added.

Earlier in the morning, Mohali Deputy Commissioner and a ADGP rank official held a meeting with the farmers’ leaders at the morcha site and accompanied a delegation of farmers to Punjab Bhawan for a meeting with CM Bhagwant Mann and other senior officials of the state government.

Meanwhile, vehicular traffic was restored on the Chandigarh-Mohali road after the farmers wound up their belongings and returned home.