Leaders of 16 farmer unions, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, were detained in Punjab a day before their planned protest against the non-payment of flood relief to affected people. Among those detained were Sarvan Singh Pandher, state president of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, and leaders from other unions like BKU (Krantikari) and BKU (Behramke).
The protest, scheduled in Chandigarh from August 22, is not affiliated with the Samyukt Kisan Morcha. Previous negotiations between the government and the farmer leaders reportedly failed, prompting the protest. The leaders later met Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who assured them that he would facilitate a discussion with officers from Punjab and Haryana to address their grievances.