By Asia Samachar | India |
Indian farmers once again set out on their protest march in their quest to demand guaranteed crop prices, ala the succesful 2021 protests.
The march on Friday came to a halt just as it started when the Haryana police fired tear gas against hundreds of farmers near Shambhu, a border crossing between northern Punjab and Haryana states.
The protest, organised by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a group representing 12 farmers’ organizations, are bent on raising their issues in Parliament during the winter session.
The farmers are demanding a legal guarantee for minimum support prices for crops, farm debt waivers, pensions for farmers and laborers, and other issues, while urging the Uttar Pradesh government to meet their “genuine demands.” They have been protesting at the Shambhu border since February after their earlier march was halted.
A similar protest three years ago resulted in tens of thousands of farmers camping on the capital’s outskirts for more than a year, reported AP.
The government protects agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices by announcing a minimum purchase price for certain essential crops at the beginning of the sowing season, taking into account the cost of production. But state agencies often buy only rice and wheat at the support level, and farmers want minimum purchase price for at least more than 20 essential crops, according to the report.
In 2021, Modi repealed a set of agricultural laws that the protesting farmers said would hurt their incomes. The withdrawal of the laws was seen as a major retreat by the government, which was shocked in January that year when tens of thousands of farmers stormed the historic Red Fort in New Delhi.
After withdrawing the laws, the government said it would set up a panel of farmers and government officials to find ways to ensure support prices for some essential farm produce.
Multiple meetings since then have made no progress and farmers accuse the government of not fulfilling that promise.
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