Farmers Movement Archive

Uttarakhand farmers protest farm bills, say ‘leaders weren’t consulted’

Farmers staged protests in Garhwal and Kumaon regions of Uttarakhand against farm bills recently passed by the Parliament during the Monsoon session. In some areas, they came out on roads with their tractors. In Kumaon’s US Nagar, farmers held demonstrations across the district and came out on to the roads with their tractors in Rudrapur, Kichha, Kashipur and other places in the district. Congress and Aam Aadmi Party workers and leaders also extended their support to the farmers. US Nagar is considered the grain bowl of Uttarakhand. In Rudrapur, farmers gathered at the old grain market with tractors. Addressing the protesters, farmers’ leader and organiser of the protest, Tajendra Singh Virk alleged that the Central government wants to sell farmers into the hands of the multi-national corporate sector. “Farmers are already suffering due to losses, now these bills will further affect the agriculture sector and hit farmers,” he said. In Kashipur, Ravindra Rana, state president of Bhartiya Kisan Union said, the government ought to have consulted the farmers’ bodies before passing the bills. “Government has no right to decide the fate of the farmers like this”, he said. In Kichha, Bazpur, Sitarganj and Khatima also, farmers staged sit-in protests against the bills. Also read: UP farmers join nationwide bandh over 3 farm bills in a big wayThe farmers are protesting the three farm bills - Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 - which were passed by both Houses of Parliament during the monsoon session recently and await Presidential assent. In Haridwar district of Garhwal region, farmers staged protests in agriculture-dominated areas like Manglaur, Roorkee, Laksar, Khanpur, Iqbalpur, Narsain, Bhagwanpur, Kaliyar and Laldhang and Shyampur. Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait) faction held a protest outside the jaggery agricultural production committee led by Garhwal division president Sanjay Chaudhary and district unit president Vijay Shastri. Other agricultural unions like Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ambawat) and (Tomar) also staged protests and burned effigies of BJP leaders. A major protest was held outside roadways bus transport stand by Uttarakhand Kissan Morcha after which a memorandum was handed out to Roorkee joint magistrate Namami Bansal by Morcha president Chaudhary Gulshan.Superintendent of Police, Haridwar (Rural) Swapan Kishore said that adequate deployment of police personnel was made in the wake of the farmers’ agitation. In Dehradun also, members of Bhartiya Kissan Union (Tomar) staged protest against the bills at Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT). Many of them had also come on their tractors due to which traffic was affected for some time in the area. Uttarakhand Congress has already announced its calendar of protests against these bills in the state till October 31. According to state Congress president Pritam Singh, they will start an online campaign ‘Speak Up’ on September 26, followed by protest march from the party office in Dehradun to the Governor’s house on September 28. State-wide protests at district and assembly segment level will be held on October 2 and a signature campaign against the bills will take place between October 2 to October 31.

Hindustan Times

25-09-2020

India