Activists of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) blocked the main road and staged a dharna outside the District Administrative Complex (DAC) in Fazilka on Monday, demanding the cancellation of an FIR registered against a farmer who had opposed the claims of an Abohar-based blogger.
The blogger is alleged to have circulated misleading advertisements about the high performance of a particular seed, among other issues raised by the protesters.
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Pragat Singh Chakpakhi, district president of the union, alleged that the blogger had claimed high yields using seeds of a specific company, but these claims later proved to be false. He said that when a farmer, Gurwinder Singh, protested against these claims, he was booked by the police.
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Farmers further alleged that the blogger had promised yields of up to 80 maunds of wheat per acre after sowing the seed. They claimed that such practices were exploiting farmers in connivance with multinational companies.
A delegation of farmers met the SSP, who assured them that action would be taken within four days. Chakpakhi warned that the agitation would be intensified if their demands were not met.
Advertisement Another farmer, Satnam Singh, said that their indefinite dharna entered its fifth day on Monday. He added that farmers had been protesting outside the DAC since May 1 in support of their 11 demands, including the cancellation of FIRs registered against farmers at various police stations in the district