Recently thousands of farmers marched from Haridwar to Delhi with a series of demands. While some important demands have been agreed upon by the government several other critical demands still remain unattended to.
Editorial Staff / The New Leam
Thousands of farmers affiliated to the Bhartiya Kisan Union began marching from Haridwar to Delhi and this march had started on September 23rd. When they had almost come to the verges of Delhi, they were stopped at the Uttar Pradesh border on 2nd October. The farmers were treated with unfriendly moves by the police that used water cannons and tear gas against the them. The protests were called off when the government officials agreed to meet some of their crucial demands.
The protest rally which started in Haridwar finally ended at Kisan Ghat, Choudhary Charan Singh’s memorial in Delhi on Wednesday. The protesting farmers offered their prayers at the memorial and marked the successful end to their protest.
The protest march had been undertaken with an aim to highlight their demands and put forth the issues troubling the farmers, in front of the government. The protest was organised under the banner of Bhartiye Kisan Union which gave the call for the peaceful protest march to Delhi. The march was stopped abruptly on 2nd October by Delhi Police on the UP-Delhi border on the grounds that the protesting farmers posed a law and order threat. Tear gas and water cannons were used on the peaceful protesters to stop them but the farmers fought back to make their voices heard and demands clear.
When the moment finally arrived
At 12:30 am on 3rd October, the Delhi police opened the barricades at Delhi-UP border and allowed the entry of farmers into the territory of Delhi, at 5:00a.m in the morning the farmers reached Kisan Ghat and made the protest movement successful.
The main agenda of the movement was to highlight their demands like loan waiver, subsided electricity, pension for farmers and most importantly the implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission Report. The immediate agenda of raising their issues was successfully achieved.
The Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minster of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat held discussions with the leaders of the farmers’ after which a series of demands put forward by the farmers were agreed to. Here we enlist the demands put forward by the farmers that have been accepted by the government.
- Sugarcane farmers will be paid on a timely basis
- The usage of old tractors will now be permissible
- Government ready to institute a farmer-friendly insurance scheme for their crops
- Reduction in Goods and Services Tax on equipment used in farming
- Crop imports will be restricted
- Farmers to be consulted about the MNREGA
As of now the farmers have withdrawn their protest saying that the agenda of this particular protest has been achieved and their issues have been well placed but they would revive the movement again as their major demands are yet to be fulfilled. A major demand put forth by the farmers was the implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee Report and loan waivers which still await state approval.
