THE DEMANDS PILE UP

As you touch National Highway 5 upon leaving Punjab's largest town, Ludhiana, the lush green fields of wheat, covered with a thick blanket of fog in peak winters, continue to travel with you. Along the way, at regular intervals, the sweet aroma of sugarcane juice being boiled to prepare jaggery in makeshift units on the roadside-keeps you company.

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

Till the other day, on taking the bypass circumventing the small town of Talwandi Bhai in the border district of Ferozepur, you would see a swarm of villagers aboard tractor-trolleys joining the road, and their numbers swelling. Destination? Mansurwal village, the epicentre of an agitation that lasted six months, and has just won a famous victory-the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, finding itself on the backfoot on a classic 'people's issue', finally threw in the towel in a video put out by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on January 17.

Since July, farmers had blocked all routes leading to the ethanol and alcohol-manufacturing unit of Malbros International Private Limited in the village, alleging that it is responsible for polluting their soil, air and groundwater. The AAP regime-willy-nilly pushed, in its very first year, into the uncomfortable situation of being seen as allied with 'anti-farmer' entities-had initially justified last month's lathicharge on the protesters, saying it was just trying to implement the Punjab and Haryana High Court's orders to clear the site. But finding the tide of popular opinion turning against it, AAP has now seen wisdom in surrender. In his video address, Mann ordered the factory's closure and said the decision has been taken in public interest on the basis of legal opinion to safeguard Punjab's water, air and soil. "In future too, if anyone tries to pollute the environment, they will not be spared," he added.