To protest against the alleged supply of spurious pea seeds, farmers today burnt the effigy of the state government at Bhanmajara here.
The protest was held under the aegis of Kisan Sangharsh Committee in which farmers from nearby villages including Bhanmajara, Sanawa, Langroya, Kishanpura and Bhagoran participated.
District president of the Kirti Kisan Union Surinder Singh Bains and Kisan Sabha leader Surinder Singh Bhanmajara lamented the pea farmers of the district had been demanding compensation for crop failure, but all their pleas had fallen on deaf ears.
The leaders said that they would gherao the office of the deputy commissioner here on December 17 as part of their ongoing agitation.
Bains said over 440 farmers in the district had purchased nearly 450 quintals of AP-3 variety of pea seed from the agriculture department.
"But as even after 90-95 days the seed failed to fructify, most of the farmers have ploughed back the crop into the soil," he alleged.
The seeds seemed to be of mixed variety instead of pure AP-3, the variety the farmers of the district prefer and which bears fruit in 60-65 days, he said.
He said the district pea farmers had to face double loss on account of supply of spurious seed as they were unable to sow the wheat crop in time also.
Further, this time pea crop fetched good rates in the market but they were unable to reap the benefit of higher rates due to crop failure, he rued.
Their demands include compensation worth Rs 50,000 per acre keeping in view the fact they were unable to sow the wheat crop and strict action against the guilty officials, he added.
The crop was sown in around 850 acres in the district.
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Meanwhile, senior SAD leader and Education Minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said that a record number of people took part in the dharnas and raised slogans against AAP and its anti-Punjab stance on SYL as well as the role played by it in the demolition of the 'piau' at Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Delhi.
SAD workers and the public raised anti-Kejriwal slogans and burnt his effigy during these dharnas, he said, adding that the protesters demanded that the Delhi chief minister explain to the people of Punjab why he had taken an "anti- Punjab stance" on SYL in the Supreme Court.
They also questioned the demolition of the historic 'piau' at the Delhi gurdwara.
"After today's dharnas, AAP stands completely exposed and has no face to show to the people of Punjab," said Cheema, adding that Kejriwal has "blatantly demonstrated his anti- Punjab and anti-Sikh attitude".
He said that on the SYL issue, although Kejriwal had backed Punjab's stand during a visit to the state, the moment he got back to Delhi he changed his track and started supporting Haryana. Cheema also slammed Kejriwal for having stopped the practice of Baisakhi holiday in the national capital.
Cheema asked "what moral right does Kejriwal have to cast aspersions on the SAD-BJP government when his own government has made the people of Delhi vastly unhappy".
