Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday broke his silence on the massive farmers protest that led to the closure of the Jalandhar-Ludhiana Highway. Punjab CM Mann took to his official X handle and appealed to the farmers to not block the roads for everything and meet him in his office in Chandigarh. On Tuesday, hundreds of farmers sat on dharna which led to the closure of the Jalandhar-Ludhiana Highway, a major point of Punjab that connects multiple cities.
Punjab CM on his X handle wrote (translated version), "My request to the farmers' unions is not to turn the common people against you by blocking the roads for everything..." Punjab CM further asked the farmers' union to talk to the government in Chandigarh's Punjab Bhawan, Secretariat, the office of the Minister of Agriculture and my office are at home." CM Mann cautioned the farmers and wrote, "If this attitude remains then the day is not far when you will not find people......Understand people's feelings."
Protesting farmers threaten to block railways
The farmers union has warned the Punjab Government and the District Administration that if any representative will not meet with them and agree with their demands they will stop trains as well. It means, the farmers' protest can be stretched and people may face more difficulties in the upcoming times. It is worth mentioning that farmers had a meeting with a government representative on Tuesday night. However, no parties reached any conclusion. As per farmers, the person who had a meeting with them did not possess much power.
The demand for higher sugarcane tariffs is at the heart of this protest, as farmers say the increase is necessary to preserve their livelihoods and the economic viability of agriculture as a profession. Apart from the sugarcane price hike, farmers are also demanding to roll back the legal cases registered against farmers over stubble burning.