DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday congratulated farmers over the "triumphant" culmination of their over year-long agitation against the Centre's three contentious farm laws. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of 40 farm unions, on Thursday decided to suspend the agitation and announced that farmers will return home on December 11 from the protest sites at Delhi's borders. Singh, who is the chief of the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), hoped the development would pave the way for a more constructive political environment for the progress of the farming community, which constitutes the backbone of India's economic growth and sustainability. In a statement issued here, Singh said he was happy "the farmers' fight had reached its logical conclusion and the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments had agreed in principle to follow his own erstwhile government's decision in Punjab to compensate the families of farmers who had lost their lives during the agitation". The Amarinder Singh government in Punjab had announced Rs 5 lakh in financial aid and a job for a member each of the deceased farmers' families in December 2020 and January 2021, respectively. The former chief minister expressed relief that the agitating farmers, farm labourers and their families will finally be back in the warm comfort of their homes after camping at Delhi's borders since November last year. Singh hoped the lingering issue of minimum support price, for which the Centre had constituted a committee, would also be resolved soon to the satisfaction of the farmers. He hoped all future legislations and decisions concerning the farming community, which has been at the forefront of India's progressive march since Independence, would be taken in the spirit of mutual agreement, after due consultation with all the stakeholders. Asserting his party's unequivocal support for the farmers, Singh said, as in the past, he would continue to do everything in his power to protect their interests and ensure their welfare. (editor@dailyworld.in)