Farmers Movement Archive

Agitating farmers block Bhind-Lipulekh highway in UP’s Pilibhit

PILIBHIT: Tens of hundreds of farmers following a call by All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee assembled near Pilibhit collectorate on Friday and blocked Bhind-Lipulekh highway to protest against the three farm bills, now law. Heavy police force has been deployed in the area to maintain the law and order. The agitation lasted in Pilibhit for about four hours. It was followed by appeals to the district administration to repeal the contentious farm laws and other local issues. The agitating farmers were led by district president of Bhartiya Kisan Union Satvinder Singh Kahlon. They handed over a memorandum to ADM (finance and revenue) Atul Singh, directly addressed to the prime minister. A 15-point second memorandum was primarily concerned with harassment of farmers in paddy procurement and the arrears of sugarcane price. It was addressed to the district magistrate. Kahlon alleged that the district administration had lost all control over the functioning of the procurement agencies that compelled farmers to sell their paddy at Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,200 a quintal compared to the minimum support price of Rs 1,868. “This illicit practice is being applied deliberately to extract bribes from farmers to the tune of Rs 200 a quintal in lieu of accepting their paddy," Kahlon said. "The farmers who declined to follow the directives of the procurement agencies were being made to wait for three to four weeks for their turn. Their paddy has been left in the cold weather without any proper arrangement," he added.

The Times of India

2020-11-28

Bareilly