The much-important Jalandhar-Ludhiana National Highway (NH) remains closed due to the farmers' protest. On Tuesday, hundreds of farmers sat in dharna over multiple demands. United Kisan Morcha has called the latest farmers' protest. As farmers sat on the road, the administration and Police had to barricade the highway and hence the Jalandhar-Ludhiana NH was made one-way. As a result, people going to Jalandhar or Ludhiana had to face serious trouble reaching their homes, offices, etc. Although it was expected that the farmers' protest would conclude on Tuesday, farmers slept in the tent that they installed on the National Highway. Preparations made by the District Administration and the Police totally failed and the cities witnessed long hours of traffic jam.
Although the traffic on Wednesday morning was smooth, it is expected that congestion will increase with time if farmers continue to protest on the road. Notably, 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.
Notably, the Police started the service road to ease the disruption. However, the farmers then started their dharna on the service road as well. One of the farmer leaders said, "The protest has entered the second day. It is the failure of the government. If the protest does not end in one day, then it means the government is not sensitive towards the farmers. We are protesting for our rights. It's not like we decided to protest all of a sudden. We met DCs of multiple districts and persuaded them to agree with our demands. The State government is responsible for this protest."
Demands of farmers
The protest aims to draw attention to the challenges faced by farmers, especially those related to a fair price for their produce, which directly affects their livelihoods. 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.