Various farmer organizations staged a three-hour protest at Harchowal on the Gurdaspur-Sri Hargobindpur road. They were protesting against the non-payment of sugarcane dues amounting to crores of rupees, the new agricultural agreement between the US and India, and the various forms of oppression farmers are facing at the hands of the government. Traffic movement was brought to a standstill during the protest. Participants included the Lok Insaaf Morcha, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, and other like-minded individuals. Addressing the gathering, speakers pointed out the government’s hypocrisy: while it advocates for crop diversification, it has failed to clear sugarcane dues pending for two years. They demanded that payments be made directly to the farmers rather than being routed through mill owners’ accounts, a practice that causes farmers undue hardship. Furthermore, farmer leaders warned that the agricultural agreement currently being negotiated between the central government and the US would ruin Punjab’s entire agricultural sector and destroy agro-based industries. They declared that if the Punjab government fails to clear sugarcane dues and no changes are made to the US agreement, they would escalate their protests by blocking major highways and railway lines instead of just smaller roads.
For three consecutive hours, the farmers raised slogans against both the state and central governments and blocked traffic. The gathering was addressed by Ranjeet Singh Sonu Aulakh (President, Lok Insaaf Morcha), Satnam Singh Bagrian (Pagri Bachao Andolan), Lakhwinder Singh Manjianwal (BKU Ekta Ugrahan), Thakur Dalip Singh Lambardar (District Leader), Subedar Rishpal Singh Bharat, Baldev Singh Sekhwan, and Baljinder Singh Cheema (Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee), among others. The local DSP assured the speakers and leaders that a meeting with the Punjab government would be arranged for them soon. However, farmer leaders warned that if their demands were ignored, they would be forced to block highways and major railway lines.
