As Punjab CM Amarinder Singh on Monday ordered that every one these attending massive gatherings – social, political or non secular – ought to be mandatorily house quarantined for five days, farmer unions refused to cooperate whereas calling the state authorities’s transfer a bid to harass farmers.
In Punjab, over 100 pakka dharnas are underway aside from farmers coming from Delhi borders in turns. Buta Singh Burjgill, president of BKU (Dakaunda), stated: “Farmers travel via trains, buses and even through private vehicles. Let us see as how they test the whole jatha. We are not going to follow any quarantine protocol of 5 days. Covid is a disease and we need to take care, but it is being projected as a deadly disease which it is not. In fact, all the fresh curbs being issued by Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan UP or other states to end kisan andolan. More than 350 farmers have died while protesting at Delhi borders and none of them tested Covid positive during postmortem report. So, we fail to understand whether Covid is as serious as it is projected to be?”
Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, basic secretary of BKU (Ugrahan) — the biggest farmer union of Punjab — stated, “We do agree that Covid is there but as per scientific figures, nearly 2 per cent people die of it if they don’t get themselves tested at an early stage. However, if we stop protesting against these deadly farm laws, 100 per cent farmers will die. So what is more deadly — farm laws or corona? There is curfew in Delhi, Rajasthan, curbs in Punjab, Haryana, UP and almost all other states from where farmers are coming. However, our jathas will go to Delhi as normal.”
Meanwhile, all DCs have been requested to introduce fast antigen check (RAT) at railway stations and bus stands. Sources stated that Covid surge attributable to individuals getting back from massive gatherings remained an enormous concern.
Jalandhar DC Ghanshyam Thori whereas speaking with The Indian Express stated, “We will be doing rapid testing at railway stations and bus stands so as to keep a check on people who are coming after attending large gatherings.”
DC Thori, nonetheless, didn’t make clear whether or not farmers’ may even be examined or not.
Jagseer Singh, a district committee member of BKU (Ugrahan) from district Bathinda, stated, “Our ladies members are entering into massive numbers to Tikri border from Dabwali, Khanauri and Sardulgarh borders on April 21 and they’ll come again through similar entries. Let us see as to how they check us.
We do maintain our well being and if anybody is sick, that particular person instantly will get examined.”
B Srinivasan, DC Bathinda, stated, “We are in the process to depute the team there. We are planning to test maximum people who are coming to bus stand and railway station.”
So far two union leaders have examined constructive. BKU (Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan examined constructive final month, and has since recovered. All India Kisan Sabha nationwide chief Hannan Mollah examined constructive two days in the past, and is admitted at a Delhi hospital. Another Punjab farmer union chief’s spouse has additionally been examined constructive and he’s a care giver to his spouse lately in Punjab.
Dr Darshan Pal, coordinator of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) stated, “A compulsory quarantine of 5 days for people attending gatherings sounds strange. What will 5 days quarantine do? Everyone is concerned about their health and they are taking care of it on their own. But instructions of Punjab government are a way to harass the farmers and invite unnecessary clashes as our farmers regularly travel by trains in large groups.”
He added, “Farmers will make strong arrangements to protect themselves from corona on all protest sites. Farmers have also been invited to come back to various protest sites from next week. This strategy was finalised during a SKM meeting on Saturday. For the last few days, there are indications that the government is plotting to end the peasant movement on the pretext of the pandemic. There have been several reports in the media that as soon as the state assembly elections are over, Haryana government and the Centre have planned to attack the protest sites and evacuate them in the name of Operation Clean. SKM has firmly warned the government that farmers will strongly resist any Operation Clean. SKM has urged all the other organisations to make a programme to reach out to their members, and giving them a slogan of ‘Phir Dilli Chalo’ from April 24 when we mark the completion of 150 days of the farmers’ struggle at Delhi borers.”
SKM ANNOUNCES RESISTANCE WEEK
SKM has introduced a ‘Resistance Week’/‘Pratirodh Saptah’ that shall be noticed in any respect protest websites from Tuesday (April 20) to Monday (April 26), beneath which the next preparations shall be made:
Masks shall be made accessible in any respect protest websites and there shall be a drive to advertise their use
Vaccination camps shall be began in any respect protest websites and protesters above 45 years of age can get themselves vaccinated right here
At each protests website, there shall be info shared on protecting measures to be adopted towards the pandemic
All medical camps could have elevated availability of thermometers, oxymeters, masks.
For Covid safety and therapy, SKM will cooperate totally with native administration.
