Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers brave cold wave as they camp at Haryana border

Ram Singh, a 62-year-old farmer from Gharsana tehsil in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district, has been sleeping in his tractor for the past three days in Shahjahanpur on Rajasthan-Haryana border. Singh, along with some other farmers from Gharsana, has been camping at the site even as a cold wave sweeps across the region. While braving the cold was not easy, Singh said that the discomfort was negligible in comparison to the dangers posed by the new farm laws. “While the older farmers are sleeping in tractors and trolleys, the younger ones sleep on the road. Our sisters and daughters are not able to sleep at night. The conditions are harsh but we are ready to face it all. Until the government relents, we will continue to agitate under all challenging circumstances,” said Singh. He is among around 5,000 farmers, from states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Haryana, who have gathered at Shahjahanpur at the Delhi-Jaipur highway to join the movement against the new farm laws. Farmers across the country have been protesting against the three newly enacted farm laws — The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020 — passed by Parliament during the monsoon session. The farmers fear that the new laws will put them at the mercy of large corporations and lead to the removal of the minimum support price(MSP) they receive on important crops. While the aim of the farmers is to join the agitation in Delhi, they’ve been restricted at the interstate border by the Rewari Police for the past five days. Farmer groups have stationed their caravan at one of the carriageways since the police in Haryana are not allowing them to move ahead. While this section of the Delhi-Jaipur highway is blocked, traffic movement has not been significantly hit due to route diversion.Abhishek Jorwal, superintendent of police(Rewari), said that the police were on the vigil and wouldn’t allow farmers to block the highway. “We have deployed enough strength on the highway. We will not let farmers block the highway. We have placed barricades on one side of the carriageway,” said Jorwal. He said that around 1,000 farmers in total were protesting at both Banipur Chowk and Shahjahanpur border. “Why is the Haryana government stopping us from going to the national Capital? Are we not living in a democracy? They tell us that people from Rajasthan cannot enter Haryana,” said Singh. He said that the treatment of the government towards farmers had been shocking, “We have not seen this kind of inconsiderate behaviour from governments before.” Singh said that the new laws threatened the existence of farmers and they were prepared for a long fight. “We are ready to stay here for one whole year or two, if required. We will not budge till the laws are rolled back. This is a countrywide movement that affects all farmers,” said Singh. Multiple groups of farmers from Rajasthan and Gujarat are camping in tarpaulin tents at the site. Farmers have reached the borders from places such as Churu, Mundwa in Rajasthan and Himatnagar, Modasa in Gujarat. “On a daily basis, batches of farmers from different villages are joining the agitation. We will continue to strengthen our numbers here before we decide to head to Delhi. Till the time the three laws are rolled back, we will continue to protest. Be it for weeks or months,” said Mangal Singh, a farmer from Sikar in Rajasthan. Harvinder Singh Gehlot, a farmer from Shri Ganganagar, said that the goal was to reach Delhi and strengthen the ongoing agitation. He said that more batches of farmers would be joining the agitation at Shahjahanpur following which the groups will march ahead. “We are very clear about our demands. We want the government to roll back the laws and ensure that crops are procured as per the MSP formula proposed by the MS Swaminathan committee report. We seek the improvement of conditions for all farmers. This movement is not restricted to Punjab and Haryana alone,” said Gehlot. Sanjay Madhav, the state convener of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee in Rajasthan, said that while the dipping mercury levels were causing discomfort, farmers were committed to the movement and in high spirits.“Despite the cold wave, farmers remain undaunted. Support for our movement is increasing daily. More groups of farmers are joining us and we expect the agitation here to grow more in the coming days. We will strengthen the movement here before moving ahead,” said Madhav

Hindustan Times

17-12-2020

City