On SKM's call, farmers protest against WTO by parking tractors along highways

Amritsar/Hoshiarpur/Hisar: Farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of several farm unions on Monday parked their tractors along the highways at many places in Punjab and Haryana demanding that the agriculture sector be taken out of the WTO agreement.

This comes amid thousands of farmers staying put at Khanauri and Shambhu points on Punjab's border with Haryana after their 'Delhi Chalo' march, spearheaded by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) to press the Centre for various demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops, was stopped by security forces.

Farmers under the banner of SKM, which spearheaded the 2020-21 farmers' stir, had announced to hold their 'Quit WTO Day' demonstration from 12 noon till 3 pm on Monday wherein they would park their tractors along the state and national highways without obstructing vehicular traffic.

In Punjab's Hoshiarpur, farmers parked their tractors at several locations including the Jalandhar-Jammu National Highway. Led by Doaba Kisan Committee's state president Jangveer Singh Chauhan, farmers also parked their tractors on a road at Bijli Ghar Chowk in Tanda.

Addressing a gathering, Chauhan criticised World Trade Organization (WTO) policies, calling those "anti-farmers".

Members of several other farm outfits such as Bharti Kisan Union (Rajewal), BKU (Qadian), BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) also held demonstrations and parked their tractors on Hoshiarpur-Phagwara Road, Nasrala-Taragarh Road, Dosarka-Fatehpur Road, Bullowal-Allowal Road and Bhunga-Hariana Road.

The protesters also demanded legal guarantees for MSP, debt waiver, implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations and pension for farmers.

In Amritsar, farmers parked their vehicles along the highways in Ajnala, Jandiala Guru, Rayya and Beas. In Ludhiana, farmers owing allegiance to the SKM, parked their tractors along the highway on Ludhiana-Chandigarh road to register their protest against the WTO.

In Haryana's Hisar, farmers held protests at 50 locations by parking their tractors along the state and national highways.

All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) state vice president Shamsher Singh Nambardar said the demonstrations were held at places including Surewala Chowk, Mayyar Toll, Chaudhariwas, Bagla Mor, Badopatti and Bas Toll.

He claimed that the government was not giving MSP on all crops because of WTO policies.