Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], September 1 (ANI): Farmers are again staging a protest at the Chandigarh border over their pending demands. A large number of farmers from Punjab reached the Chandigarh border, where a week-long sit-in protest is being held from September 1 to September 7.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha is organising the protest, and farmers have started their sit-in near Airport Road to press for their demands.

Chandigarh Police have made elaborate security and traffic arrangements in view of the protest.

Asserting that the government has failed to address their long-standing grievances, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU Lakhowal) senior leader Harinder Singh Lakhowal stated that a coalition of 32 farmer organisations has decided to intensify their agitation over unmet demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP and the cancellation of decades-old water agreements.

Speaking on the decision of the farmer unions, Lakhowal expressed frustration over the lack of communication from the authorities despite repeated representations.

'We, a coalition of 32 farmer organisations, have made this decision because we have been raising these demands for a long time. We have submitted memoranda to the Governor, the CM, the SDM, and the DC; we have submitted them to many authorities. It has been four and a half years, yet no one is listening to us, and our demands remain unmet,' Lakhowal said.

The farmer leader specifically targeted the Punjab government regarding water rights, demanding a special session of the Legislative Assembly to address the issue.

'We raised these same issues 2-3 years ago; they agreed to some demands but failed to implement them, specifically regarding water. The Punjab government might argue that this isn't their responsibility, that the Centre has to handle it. We want them to oppose this in the Legislative Assembly by convening a special session. They should demand the cancellation of past water agreements; after all, 25 years have passed,' he added.

Lakhowal confirmed that the unions are prepared for a countrywide stir against the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Detailing the core economic demands of the farming community, the BKU leader questioned the disparity between corporate relief and farmer support.

'Regarding the Free Trade Agreement, which was announced some time ago, we are prepared to protest against it nationwide. Protests are already taking place everywhere,' he noted.

'The Central government's MSP (Minimum Support Price) for 22 crops; we are demanding a legal guarantee for it. Secondly, regarding loans, if corporate debts amounting to lakhs of crores can be waived, why can't ours be? We are demanding the implementation of a proper crop insurance scheme,' Lakhowal said. (ANI)