Hundreds of farmers owing allegiance to farmer unions under the aegis of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) today converged on the Chandigarh-Mohali border for a seven-day protest morcha. Their demands include the rolling back of the land pooling policy by the state government and legal guarantee for the MSP from the Central Government, besides fresh review of all river water sharing agreements of Punjab.Riding their tractor-trailers, carrying folding beds, chairs, mattresses, dry rations and stoves, the farmers have come from all over Punjab, saying they were looking with hope towards both the state government and the Centre to address their concerns that they believe would help tide over the agrarian crisis.Some gurdwaras in Mohali, including Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan, Sohana, have started sending langar for the farmers. Water tankers were lined up along the 2-km stretch of the road, as were hundreds of tractor-trailers.Since late last evening, the farmers had started arriving near Jagatpura village here and began setting up the stage for the protest. Though so far, the protest site is male dominated, farmers said women were expected to join from Wednesday.Amongst other things being demanded by the farmers is a debt waiver and protection of their livelihoods when the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are signed. They are also demanding that the MSP be fixed on the basis of the recommendations made by the Swaminathan Commission. Another major demand is fixing the price of sugarcane at Rs 500 per quintal, besides implementing the “one counter, one payment” system at every sugar mill and clearing outstanding payments owed by the mills to farmers.Iqbal Singh, a farmer from Mamoli village in Patiala, said for the past two years, the state government had not been taking farmers and the agriculture sector problems seriously. A large number of farmers, who spoke to The Tribune, said one of the biggest challenges that they faced during this ongoing paddy season was the poor availability of water. “Had Punjab been getting its complete share of its river waters, the situation would be different,” Gurloveleen Singh, a farmer from Malerkotla said.Jagmohan Singh Patiala, a prominent leader of the SKM, said they had raised the demanding that government convene a special session of the Vidhan Sabha and pass a resolution seeking the repeal of Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act and forward it to Parliament.”Labour leader’s death mournedFarm leaders expressed grief over the death of labour leader Gurnam Singh Daud in a road accident. The state government’s alleged action against employee leaders was condemned and support was extended to the ongoing employees’ struggle. The BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) has also decided to support government staff on September 4.