Toll plazas in various cities of Punjab have been closed for the last one month after farmers announced a protest against the government. The farmers union announced that till the time government will not agree to the demands, they will not allow toll plazas to charge any fee from locals.
NHAI claimed that due to this ongoing protest by the farmers, toll plazas are suffering loss of one crore 33 lakhs daily. NHAI has now appealed to the High Court that the Central government along with the Punjab government should either move the farmers away from there or compensate for the loss suffered.
Recently, farmers’ union stated that this protest will go on till 15th January 2023 and is likely to get extended until the government fulfills their demands. The union’s head further added that after Delhi protest, Central government agreed to their demands but has not fulfilled those yet. They said, “Punjab government is giving benefits to the corporate people but is not fulfilling their demands.” For the unversed, their demands include farm debt waiver, remunerative prices for their crops and compensation for damage to crops.
They informed that till the time their demands are not met, the protest will go on along with which they will carry out the Rail Roko Movement on 29th January 2023. Reportedly, the trains will be blocked by farmers as a part of their protest on 29th January 2023 for 3 hours.