Farmers from Punjab head for Delhi; Haryana's many 'khaps' to join parade
Chandigarh: More batches of farmers from Punjab on Sunday set out for Delhi to participate in the proposed tractor parade on January 26.
Farmer unions protesting the Centre's three farm laws had said they would go ahead with their tractor parade in Delhi on Republic Day.
They had announced to take out the tractor parade on the Outer Ring Road in Delhi.
A batch of 500 tractors-trolleys left Amritsar and several groups of growers from Phagwara, Hoshiarpur and other places of Punjab moved towards the national capital to take part of the tractor parade, farmer leaders said.
Kisan Sangharsh Union leader Baldev Singh Verka in Amritsar said, "Today as many as 500 more tractor trolleys left for Delhi to join the tractor parade. Each tractor-trolley will carry 20 persons along with bedding and eating arrangement for fourteen hour-long journey to Delhi".
He said on Saturday, around seven hundred tractor trolleys had left for Delhi.
Gurbachan Singh Chabba, spokesperson of the Kisan Sangarsh Committee said so far, around 12,000 tractor and trolleys had already left Amritsar and Tarn districts.
While most of the tractor convoys from Doaba region had left for Delhi on Friday and Saturday, many left on Sunday also to take part in the tractor parade, said Satnam Singh Sahni, General Secretary Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba).
During the journey till Delhi borders, arrangements for 'langar' have been made at several places on the national highway, farmer leaders said.
A sea of tractors could be seen on the highway as they carried the tricolour and flag of farmers' unions.
Meanwhile, several khaps of Haryana are set to join farmers' tractor parade in Delhi on the Republic Day with thousands of these vehicles leaving various caste councils' villages for the national capital on Sunday.
About 1,500 tractors from villages under the Kandela khap set out on Sunday for the 'tractor parade' in Delhi, Khap head Tekram Kandela said.
We have started from Jind. We will be proceeding in a peaceful and orderly manner and follow the route allotted by the authorities for the parade, Kandela said.
The Kandela khap, which had spearheaded a farmers' agitation in Haryana nearly two decades ago, has lent its support to farmers against the new farm laws.
Several other khaps' too are backing farmers' agitation against the new farm laws.
Tekram Kandela said his Kandela khap had recently adopted four resolutions at a khap panchayat' for repealing the three farm laws, giving a legal guarantee of crop MSP, waiving the farm loans and implementing the Swaminathan Commission recommendations.
Independent MLA from Dadri in Haryana, Sombir Sangwan, who also heads the Sangwan khap said thousands of farmers in their tractors were starting for various border points of Delhi to take part in the 'tractor parade'.