The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) will hold a statewide protest across Punjab on Tuesday against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, accusing it of unjustly arresting farmers who opposed a sewerage pipeline project in Bathinda district.
SKM (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal on Monday announced that effigies of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal will be burnt at all district headquarters as part of the protest.
The farmers have been demonstrating against the laying of a sewerage pipeline passing through the residential area of Ghasokhana village in Bathinda. Protesters fear that potential leakage from the pipeline could pose serious health and environmental risks to local residents.
Dallewal alleged that over 100 farmers have been jailed in recent days for opposing the project, with nine currently on hunger strike inside prison. On Monday, five more farmers reportedly joined the hunger protest.
The decision to launch the statewide agitation was taken on Sunday night, and Dallewal appealed to farmers across the state to join in large numbers.
He also claimed that he was detained by the police at his residence in Faridkot on Sunday ahead of a scheduled press conference in Bathinda.
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