Protesting farmers on Thursday, 23 December, met Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to demand toll-free movement of their vehicles, among other demands.
The farmers also demanded farm loan waivers, withdrawing all FIRs lodged during the anti-farm laws protests and compensation for land acquired for highway projects.
Meanwhile, Channi assured the farmers that he would speak with the Union Minister of Road and Transport Nitin Gadkari.
The Chief Minister told reporters on Thursday, “We had a good meeting with the farmers' unions today.” He added, “Many of their issues have been resolved. Farmers' loans up to Rs 2 lakh will be waived in the next 10-12 days.”
Joginder Singh Ugrahan, the president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ekta Punjab, said that the next meeting with the state administration will take place on Wednesday, 29 December, reported ANI. “We met Punjab CM today over our demands which included farm loan waiver, compensation, etc,” he said.
“The Chief Minister has said that he will talk to Union minister Nitin Gadkari on this. The next meeting is on December 29,” he added.
Farmer unions in Punjab, part of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), have been protesting for the past four days, demanding a complete waiver of farm loans and compensation for the kin of farmers who died during the anti-farm laws protests.
From 20-22 December (Monday to Wednesday), they had blocked railway tracks at different places in Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, Amritsar, and Hoshiarpur, affecting the movement of around 400 trains.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times)
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