Farmers Protest At Chandigarh-Mohali Border, Demand MSP, Debt Write-Off

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) launched a three-day protest at the Mohali-Chandigarh border on Sunday over the pending demands of farmers.

One of the protestors, while speaking to ANI, said, "Corporate is looting and their lakhs and crores of rupees in debts are written off but not those of the farmers. These debt traps are driving our farmer friends to suicide. Through this protest, we are raising a demand that the loans or debts of farmers be written off at the earliest. The same was promised by the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some state governments, too, made similar commitments."

"We are holding the three-day protest to put forward this demand and are getting the farmers ready for a bigger agitation in the coming days," he said, adding that when large gatherings happen in other states over MSP, debt write-offs and waivers, among other issues, then a collective campaign and movement directed at the Delhi, the country's power capital, will be set in motion.

On the march to Chandigarh Raj Bhavan, the protestor said, "As of now, this is a three-day protest and further decisions will depend upon the kind of response we receive from the government."

Samyukt Kisan Morcha is an umbrella organisation comprising farmer unions from Punjab and other states.

Some of the demands being raised by SKM through these protests include a guarantee for MSP (Minimum Support Price) from the central government, withdrawal of cases registered against farmers during the year-long agitation against the now-repealed farm laws, waiver of debt, pension for farmers, etc.

The farmers are also demanding the withdrawal of FIRs registered for burning their crop residue and compensation for crop damage caused by floods.

SKM leaders stated earlier that a large number of farmers would be participating in the protest and they would march towards the governor's residence unless stopped midway.

They said while the protests will be confined to the Mohali-Chandigarh border on Sunday and Monday, after the Guru Parv celebrations, the SKM will deliberate on marching to Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh.

However, the possibility of that happening appears slim as the security arrangements have been increased at the Chandigarh-Mohali border.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Amandeep Brarar told ANI, "All the arrangements have been made by the police administration. We knew that for three days, farmers would sit on the Mohali-Chandigarh border. Considering this, the Mohali police, along with the Chandigarh administration, have deployed security here along with water cannons and a fire brigade."

"We are ready with multi-layered security. Arrangements have been made to ensure that common people don't face any kind of hassle during these 3 days," he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)