Farmers owing allegiance to various farm bodies Tuesday forced their way through police barricades to reach the site of a protest against a distillery and ethanol plant in Mansurwal village here. Villagers under the banner of the Sanjha Zira Morcha have been protesting in front of the plant for the past five months, demanding that the distillery be shut down as it was allegedly polluting underground water and causing air pollution.
Farmers joined the protest on Monday. The situation turned tense on Tuesday when farmers removed the barricades put up by the police on a road in the village leading to the protest site. Some farmers on a jeep tried to head towards the protest site, but were stopped by buses that police parked in the middle of the road. Police, however, were not preventing anyone from reaching the 'dharna' site from the main road.
Ferozepur Senior Superintendent of Police Kanwardeep Kaur on Monday warned that any person who tries to disturb law and order by obstructing government officials on duty or through objectional posts on social media will be dealt with a firm hand.
"The police are here to ensure compliance with the high court order. The protestors can carry on with their 'dharna' but we have to ensure safe passage for the plant workers inside the factory as per court directive and anyone who interrupts in this process, shall be dealt with under the law," the SSP had said. A heavy police force has been deployed at the plant site. The Punjab and Haryana High court had directed that protesters should be shifted 300 meters from the present spot.
Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal had on Saturday reached out to the agitators, assuring them that their concerns will be addressed. He had assured the protesters that their interests would be protected and added that special fact-finding committees comprising experts from various fields will be set up in this regard. However, protesters stuck to their demand of shutting down the plant.
