Farmers blocking the national highway in Pipli in Haryana's Kurukshetra district over the demand for MSP for sunflower seeds slept overnight at the protest site on Monday night. This prompted police to divert the traffic as the blockade of the highway connecting Delhi with Chandigarh, Amritsar and Jammu continued. Meanwhile, they will hold a meeting on Tuesday to mull their future course of action after two rounds of talks with the district administration failed to yield any outcome.
Meeting with district administration did not yield any outcome
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said they held a meeting with the district administration twice on Monday night but the talks did not yield any outcome. He said a local committee of farmers that was constituted on Monday and the leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) would hold a meeting on Tuesday to chalk out their further course of action.
Tikait said the issue of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sunflower crops is not only affecting farmers in Haryana but the entire farmer community "as we are demanding an MSP law for all crops, as promised by the union government when we withdrew the 'Kisan andolan' (farmers agitation against the now repealed farm laws)". Apart from the MSP for sunflower seeds, the protesting farmers are demanding the release of nine farmer union leaders who were arrested during a protest at Shahabad here recently.
Fresh cases filed against protestors: Kurukshetra SP
Kurukshetra's Superintendent of Police S S Bhoria told news agency PTI that the district administration is trying to persuade the farmers to lift the blockade and was hopeful that a solution would be found. He also said that a fresh case has been registered against the protesters by the police under relevant provisions of law for blocking the national highway. Prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 imposed in an area of a 2 km radius of grain market Pipli, where farmers held their mahapanchayat, have been violated, he said.
The "MSP Dilao, Kisan Bachao Mahapanchayat", called by the BKU (Charuni), was held at a grain market in Pipli close to National highway-44. Subsequently, they blocked the highway. The district administration and the police have been making efforts to persuade the protesting farmers to lift the blockade, which has caused inconvenience to commuters.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had on Saturday released Rs 29.13 crore as interim compensation to 8,528 farmers for sunflowers grown on 36,414 acres. The farmers are demanding that the state government procure sunflowers at an MSP of Rs 6,400 per quintal.
Under the Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana -- price difference payment scheme -- the state government is giving Rs 1,000 per quintal as interim support for sunflower crop sold below MSP.
(With inputs from PTI)
