Farmers protest at Roorkee ARTO over corruption

ROORKEE: Members of a local farmers’ union on Tuesday protested at assistant regional transport office (ARTO) in Roorkee over alleged corruption. More than 50 members of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tomar) barged into ARTO on Roorkee-Haridwar state highway, raising slogans against transport department officials. They held several officers hostage for almost half an hour and police had to free them. Farmers alleged that their work would not be done without paying a bribe. They claimed transport officials had placed agents outside ARTO who regularly exploit farmers.They accused transport officers of imposing heavy fines on their tractors, mentioning that agricultural vehicles were being used for commercial activities, while farmers were only using their tractor-trolleys to transport household goods. Meanwhile, transport officials denied the allegations and stated they only issued fines to vehicles involved in commercial and illegal activities.“We organised a dharna at ARTO. As we saw transport official Anil Negi passing by, we called him to sit with us and listen to our complaints. Soon, staff members joined him and they accused us of taking them hostage. They tried to suppress our protest for their vested interests, but we will not sit idle until our harassment by transport officials is stopped,” said Sachin Malakpur, state president of the union.Transport officials said protesters behaved in an unruly manner and they will register a police complaint. "The manner in which protesters pulled out our senior official Anil Negi was unacceptable. They also manhandled our staff," said Alwin Roxy, assistant regional transport officer.