Farmers’ 4-Hour ‘Rail Roko’ Today In Protest For Safety Net On Crop Prices

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have called for the countrywide “rail roko” protest from 12 pm to 4 pm.The farmers will squat on railway tracks at several places in Punjab, including Ferozepur, Amritsar, Rupnagar, and Gurdaspur districts, said KMM leader Sarwan Singh Pandher.The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), Bharti Kisan Union (Dakaunda-Dhaner), and the Krantikari Kisan Union – farmers’ bodies part of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha – will participate in the “rail rook” agitation.The SKM, which spearheaded the 2020-21 agitation, has also announced a ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ in Delhi on Thursday. The SKM said that over 400 farmers’ outfits will participate in the ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’.The farmers from Punjab, who were on a march to Delhi over similar demands, continue to protest at the Shambhu and the Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana.They were stopped at the Punjab-Haryana border by cops on February 13. Water cannons and tear gas were used during a face-off between the farmers and the security personnel.The farmers began their march with trollies filled with ration to last for months, asserting they wouldn’t return until their demands were fulfilled. The police had erected nails and concrete blocks on the roads to stop their vehicles from entering Delhi.Last Wednesday, the SKM and the KMM asked farmers and farm labourers from other states to reach Delhi to press their demands on the government.The protesting farmers on February 18 rejected the Centre’s proposal that government agencies will procure pulses, maize, and cotton at Minimum Security Price (MSP) for five years.Besides a legal guarantee for the MSP, their other demands include a farm loan waiver and the implementation of the Swaminathan Committee recommendations.