Nearly a week after the tragic suicide of two farmer brothers in Harineau village, Faridkot, farmer organisations intensified their protest by staging a demonstration outside the Land Mortgage Bank cum PADB in Faridkot on Monday.The protest was led by farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who accused banks of harassing debt-ridden farmers and demanded strict action against officials responsible.The agitation is part of a state-wide call by farmer unions, who held protests outside land mortgage banks across Punjab. They also announced that memorandums highlighting their demands would be submitted to Deputy Commissioners in every district.The issue stems from a deeply disturbing incident, where two real brothers from Harineau village in Faridkot allegedly died by suicide by jumping in front of a moving train. The incident sent shockwaves across the region and once again brought the agrarian crisis into sharp focus.According to reports, the brothers were under severe financial stress due to mounting agricultural debt. They had reportedly taken a loan of around Rs 5 lakh, but due to high interest and penalties, the repayable amount had escalated to nearly Rs 17 lakh.In an attempt to clear dues, they even sold their land, yet continued to face financial distress due to poor returns from crops. Unable to cope with the pressure, they took the extreme step, alleged the protesting farmers.Following the incident, farmer organisations have been continuously supporting the bereaved family and pressing the administration for relief measures.Their key demands include government jobs for the widows of the deceased farmers as per eligibility, free and proper education arrangements for their children (both deceased brothers have one girl child each), financial and social security support for the elderly parents and complete waiver of outstanding farm loans.Addressing the gathering, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a senior member of SKM, alleged that banks exploit the vulnerability of farmers. He claimed that farmers are often made to sign blank cheques at the time of taking loans, which are later used to impose heavy financial pressure.He further said that when farmers fail to repay loans, they are threatened with legal action and court cases, pushing them into distress.“Such coercive practices are forcing farmers towards suicide,” he added, demanding that banks immediately stop taking blank cheques from farmers, all such cheques already taken be returned, interest rates on farm loans be reduced considering farmers’ low income and harassment and coercive recovery practices be halted.The protest in Faridkot is part of a larger movement across Punjab against rising farmer indebtedness and increasing cases of suicides linked to financial stress. Farmer unions warned that if their demands are not met, the agitation will be intensified in the coming days.