NAWANSHAHR: In response to a statewide call, the activists of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (UMM) and various other organizations here today jointly staged a protest against the lockdown and curfew in the state. The protestors demanded adequate provision of health services, requisite recruitment of doctors and nurses and urgent measures to end shortage of medicines, ventilators and oxygen in the state in place of atrocities being committed on the masses through FIRs, challans and shutting of shops etc.
Addressing a gathering, speakers who included Surinder Singh Bains, Bhupinder Singh Varaich, Jasbir Deep, Sutantar Kumar, Kuldeep Singh Sujjo, Gurbakhsh Kaur Sangha, among others, said both the Centre and Punjab governments instead of fighting the pandemic were concentrating on steps which were causing huge hardships to various poor sections of the society including small traders, rehriwalas, rickshaw pullers, daily wagers etc. "As these governments failed to arrange for adequate hospital beds, ventilators and oxygen etc even in a period of one year, resulting in thousands of deaths every day, they will have to take blame for all such deaths, " said the speakers. "Businesses of shopkeepers and other traders are on the verge of collapse and migrant workers are once again migrating back to their respective states for fear of prolonged lockdown but the state government is seen urging the people to comply with the ban while calling it a time of crisis, but not coming forward with any measures to help the needy, " they added. The protesters maintained that restrictions imposed by the government were an attempt to sabotage the ongoing farmers' agitation against the central farm laws. The government was also slammed for having no control over the prices of daily necessities and medicines.
After taking a protest march in the town from outside the Reliance Smartstore, the protesters also held a sit-in at Chandigarh Chowk.