(MENAFN- Live Mint) In a tragic accident, a bus heading to Haryana's Tohana for a farmers' mahapanchayat overturned amid dense fog in Punjab's Barnala on Saturday, killing at least three women and injuring 30 others.
The deceased women have been identified as activists of a farmer organisation, BKU (Ugrahan).
The bus was carrying over 52 members of BKU (Ugrahan) from a village in Bathinda district to Haryana's Tohana for a farmers' mahapanchayat there, reported PTI.
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Barnala SHO Kuljinder Singh said there was fog in the area, and the bus was involved in an accident and overturned at the bypass.
He added that the cause of the accident was being investigated.
On Friday, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal , who has been on an indefinite hunger strike for 39 days, had appealed to farmers to reach the Khanauri protest site at the Punjab-Haryana border in large numbers on Saturday to strengthen the fight seeking a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Meanwhile, in another development, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the Centre should immediately intervene and end the fast of Dallewal by resolving the demands of farmers, adding that the farmer leader's health is critical.
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Hooda said Dallewal's life is precious for everyone.
"He is not fasting for personal interest but for the legitimate demands of the farmers," the Congress leader said.
He said the farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of the Minimum Support Price (MSP), are completely legitimate and many years old.
"The BJP itself had ended the farmer movement by promising MSP. Farmers are reminding the government of its promise... the Centre should give up stubborn attitude," he said.
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Dallewal (70) has so far refused to take any medical aid despite his prolonged fasting, which has caused his health to deteriorate.
The Punjab government has been trying to persuade Dallewal to take medical aid if he does not wish to break his fast, but he has so far remained firm in his stance.
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