The farmers’ sit-in protest at the Mohali-Chandigarh border, ongoing since September 1st, entered its seventh day on Monday. Earlier, on Sunday, a meeting took place at Punjab Bhawan, Chandigarh, between two Punjab government ministers and farmer leaders.
According to sources, the meeting was positive, and several demands that fall within the Punjab government’s jurisdiction were accepted. Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Mundia and Health Minister Dr. Balbir Singh represented the government, while leaders from various farmer organizations attended. The government assured the farmers that a special session of the Legislative Assembly would be convened within a month to discuss the water issue. The ministers also assured the farmer leaders that they would facilitate talks with the central government regarding demands that require central intervention.
On Monday, leaders of the farmer organizations will hold an internal meeting. Afterward, details regarding the meeting between the government and the farmers will be announced from the protest stage. Meanwhile, a representative from the Punjab government might arrive at the protest site with a written draft outlining the demands accepted by the state government. All in all, the farmers’ protest at the border could come to an end today.
Rakesh Tikait visits the protest site
Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait visited the protest site on Sunday. He stated that governments should accept the farmers’ demands and emphasized that farmers must receive fair prices for their crops.
Key demands of the farmers
The farmers have established a permanent protest camp in Mohali to press for several demands, including: not entering into a trade deal with the US; repealing Sections 78, 79, and 80 regarding the water issue; a complete waiver of farm loans; fixing crop prices based on the Swaminathan Report recommendations; withdrawing the Electricity Bill 2025 and Seed Bill 2025; raising the sugarcane price to ₹500 per quintal; and scrapping the land pooling scheme. Following discussions between farmer leaders and the administration, farmers have set up a protest site at the Mohali border, occupying one side of the main road leading from Mohali to Chandigarh. Due to a lack of space to park the tractor-trolleys brought by farmers from across Punjab, they have also parked vehicles on the opposite side of the road. Currently, one side of the road remains open for traffic moving between Chandigarh and Mohali.
