Farmers protest in Kurukshetra, govt calls unions for talks on September 9

Defying rain, hundreds of farmers and labourers from 10 unions under the banner of Haryana Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Morcha took out a protest march in Kurukshetra on Monday to press their pending demands.

The Morcha had warned of a gherao of the CM’s residence if issues such as girdawari and compensation for losses due to Southern Rice Black Streaked Dwarf Virus, procurement of paddy from September 15, and rollback of the smart meter scheme were not met. Their other demands include timely purchase of crops at MSP, a ban on substandard seeds and pesticides, transparency in their distribution, cleaning of canals and drains, removal of hurdles in tubewell connections and reforms in the crop insurance scheme.

Farmers gathered at Pipli grain market and marched towards the CM’s residence raising slogans against the government. Heavy police deployment, water cannons and multi-layer barricades were placed near the residence to stop them.

The protest ended peacefully after the state government invited the unions for a meeting in Chandigarh on September 9. Deputy Commissioner Vishram Kumar Meena, who reached the spot, received the farmers’ memorandum. “The morcha has submitted its memorandum and it will be forwarded to the state government. E-kshatipurti portal has been already opened for the farmers to raise claims regarding their losses. For further discussion, the state government has invited the farmer unions for a meeting on September 9 in Chandigarh. We are hopeful that the farmers’ issues will be resolved soon,” the DC said.

BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh) president Amarjeet Singh Mohri said, “The state government hasn’t been accepting the genuine demands of the farmers following which the unions were forced to give the call of protest in Kurukshetra. Despite unfavourable weather conditions, the farmers reached in large numbers. The district administration has assured the morcha that a meeting will be held on September 9 regarding the demands.”

BKU (Sir Chhotu Ram) spokesman Bahadur Mehla said, “The government has invited the farmer unions for discussion, and one farmer leader from each union will attend the meeting. If the demands are not accepted, the morcha will call a meeting and decide the future course of action.”