Thirty-eight farmers courted arrest here, on Thursday under the ongoing ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ after paying floral tribute at the memorial of farm movement martyr Shubhkaran Singh Ballo, as the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ekta Sidhupur intensified its agitation against the alleged mistreatment of jailed farmers by the prison administration.The farmers, under the leadership of Jagjit Singh Dallewal, convener of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and president of BKU Ekta Sidhupur, are protesting against the alleged poor behaviour of jail authorities, supply of dirty drinking water and poor-quality food to arrested farmers inside the jail. They have also demanded that a proper jail menu be provided to inmates.Meanwhile, the hunger strike launched by farmer Jagdeep Singh inside the jail entered its second day today. Kaka Singh Kotra, provincial general secretary of BKU Ekta Sidhupur, and Major Singh, who fell ill after allegedly consuming contaminated water and poor-quality food inside the jail, continued to remain under treatment at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College here.Union leaders said the ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ was launched to press for demands that the Punjab government had repeatedly agreed to during meetings but failed to implement. They alleged that the ruling party, despite claiming to run the government “from the villages”, was pursuing corporate-friendly policies aimed at grabbing farmers’ land.The 38 farmers who courted arrest today were pressing for the return of blank cheques taken by the Land Mortgage Bank from farmers, introduction of a One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme on the lines of commercial banks, and compensation for farmers’ belongings allegedly stolen from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points, reportedly in the presence of senior police and administrative officials.The union asserted that the agitation would continue until the farmers’ legitimate demands were met.