Malbros Liquor Factory Row:  Sanjha Morcha Zira to boycott all political parties

Malbros Liquor Factory Row:  Sanjha Morcha Zira to boycott all political parties

Ferozepur, May 6, 2024:  Sanjha Morcha Zira – demanding the closure of the distillery and ethanol project by Malbros Private Ltd. And protesting outside the closed factory from July 24, 2022 – have decided to boycott all political parties, said  Roman Brar Mahian Wala Kalan and Fateh Singh Ratol Rohi.
The SMZ has put up a banner with the headline “Boycott of Political Leaders” with a clear message that neither the political party should come to Sanjha Morcha Zira nor use its name for political purposes. The Mansorwal Kalan village in Zira Block falls in the Parliament Constituency of Khadoor Sahib. The people of the area had been protesting for the last 21 months but none of the political parties has included in its agenda the important environmental issue in their manifesto.
The backlash is that the people of the Zira area around the factory had been protesting on the ground that the industrial unit was polluting the groundwater and air which was noticed when a borewell was to be dug at a gurdwara in the village Mahiyawala Kalan and checked the groundwater 600 feet below the surface. It smelled like alcohol and the video of that had also gone viral.
Though Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann announced the unit closure, it is not getting a final order and the matter is pending with Punjab and Haryana High Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT).
Expressing concern over the attitude of the political leaders, Brar and Dhillon said that no political party has come forward to support us and now they want the votes from the villagers. He said, that merely seeking a vote during elections without our environmental agenda with a particular issue of Sanjha Morcha would not suffice, as it would be like baking the bread on one side making it clear that  ‘Roti dono taraf se senkna chahiye. Ek taraf jyada senkne se jal jaati ha’ (You need to bake the bread from both sides; overdoing one side will burn it).’
We have asked the villagers to put back the questions when the leader of any party comes to seek votes.