LAHORE: Framers kept their feet on the ground at the Faisal intersection on The Mall for the second consecutive day on Wednesday.

They were reinforced by the presence of PPP and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders and activists in the demonstration. Police and the civil administration, however, restricted the protesters to The Mall by barricading The Mall, Queens Road and connecting arteries. They did not allow the farmers to hold a symbolic funeral procession of the agriculture from the Faisal intersection to Governor’s House.

Gathering here at the call of the Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI), Farmers were, however, not short of ideas. They set on fire crates of tomatoes and husk in protest at, what they said, anti-agriculture policies of the government. They also poured out anger on the effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and burnt it to express their resentment for aggression in India-held Kashmir. They also performed the symbolic burial of agriculture at the intersection.

Farmers have gathered in Lahore to press the government to accept their demands.

The Mall is the main road of the city. Motorists suffered a great deal of inconvenience due its closure. A couple of clashes between protesting farmers and motorists also took place.

Police released central PKI president Khalid Mehmood Khokhar and Punjab president Chuadhry Rizwan Iqbal; majority of the farmers taken into the custody from Data Darbar and other parts of the city, were however, not released.

Mr Khokhar told Dawn by phone that Rizwan and PKI’s Sahiwal president Muhammad Hussain were kept at Wagah police check-post for about 12 hours and released after farmers blocked Faisal intersection late on Tuesday.

He said around 3,000 farmers were still in different police stations of Punjab and without any police reports, adding that farmers detained at Pattoki police station were not even given meal and water.

Mr Khokhar said a delegation of the top police and civil administration officers visited the spot and discussed law and order with him, adding that the capital city police officer called him to join a cabinet committee meeting to negotiate the demands.

He said the PKI would hold its executive body meeting at Faisal intersection on Thursday morning to discuss their planned Islamabad march.

Deputy Inspector General Dr Haider Ashraf told Dawn that 200 farmers had been dispatched to their districts.

He said the government’s policy was to control the protesters and convince them to negotiate their demands with the government.

Protesting farmers complain of lack of support price for crops and canal water.

“We’re not getting support price of our produce and due share of canal water for standing crops,” said Habibullah, of Toba Tek Singh.

“The government is also not withdrawing taxes on fertilizers and is not fully applying power tariff subsidy on agriculture tub-wells.”

He said farmers had to yet to reap benefits of Kissan packages by the federal and Punjab governments, adding several sits-in in Lahore and other districts by farmers had yet to deliver any results.

Mr Habibullah says he owns five acres. Despite having land, he said, he could not get agriculture loans in the past and those who had got loans had yet to payback such loans with interests because of poor crop production.

Another farmer, Muhammad Aslam, arrived from Kasur to take part in the protest. He grows sugarcane and peddy rice. He said he would travel to Islamabad for their “Zarrat Bacahao March” or save the agriculture sector to force the government to accept their demands.

He said Kissan packages and subsidies were just eyewash; farmers had failed to get their payments of sugarcane from sugar mills. The government did not provide tractors and laser-levelers to poor farmers.

“Who is getting subsidized fertilizers and power bills is a million dollar question”, Mr Aslam said.

He said the insensitivity of the PML-N government could be well-judged from the fact that not a single official came to the protesting farmers to negotiate.

Another farmer Muhammad Ramzan of Kamalia said he had been allotted 12.5 public acres five years ago with a promise to award ownership to them, but the government had now withdrawn the notification with intent to re-allot land through a fresh auction.

“What should I do when I have sold my three acres to cultivate the allotted 12.5 acres. I demand that the government award me the ownership of the land as per promise”, Ramzan said.

Also, PPP leaders Khursheed Ahmad Shah, Qamaruz Zaman Kaira, Mian Manzoor Watto and Shaukat Basra and PTI leaders Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and Chauhdry Sarwar addressed the protesters, demanded immediate release of farmers and fulfillment of relief packages.

Policemen tried to stop Khursheed Shah’s caravan at Avari Chowk traffic signal, but PPP activists removed the barriers.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2016