Delhi: Indian farmers went on a day-long strike today to protest over a range of grievances and press for their demands including guaranteed crop prices.
According to Kashmir Media Service, farmers blocked highways and held demonstrations in many rural areas in northern India today that have also led tens of thousands to march toward Delhi in tractors and wagons.
Farmers in the northern states of Haryana and Punjab held sit-ins near toll plazas on major highways in the strike, supported by some trade unions. Several agricultural markets in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana were closed, today.
Earlier on Thursday, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, one of India’s largest farmer unions, urged its members to refrain from going to their fields today in a show of support for protesting farmers. “The farmers have been asked to shun work on farms, or not go to markets for any purchases tomorrow,” said Pawan Khatana, the leader of Bharatiya Kisan Union. “Traders and transporters have also been exhorted to join the strike.”
At the heart of the latest protests is a demand for legislation that would guarantee minimum support prices for all farm produce. Farmers are also pressing the government to follow through on promises to waive their loans and withdraw legal cases brought against them during the earlier 2021 protests.
Meanwhile, the farmers have said they will put off a planned protest march to Delhi, amid talks with the government over their demands. The happened after a third round of negotiations ran into the early hours of Friday, before concluding.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a leader among the farmers, told reporters that the protest would continue peacefully, but that the demonstrators would put off attempting to reach Delhi out of consideration for the ongoing negotiations. He suggested it would be unrealistic to expect the meetings to go on if the farmers “move forward” to the capital. But he warned, “If we do not get any positive result during the Sunday meeting, then we will” continue the march.
Tens of thousands of farmers began a protest march toward New Delhi earlier this week, but were stopped by the police about 200 kilometers away from the Indian capital. The farmers are camping on the border between Punjab and Haryana after being blocked by concrete and metal barricades. Police detained some protesters.
Authorities have also suspended mobile internet service in some areas of Haryana, blocked social media accounts of some protest leaders and used drones to drop tear gas canisters on the protesters.
