BHOPAL: Farmers under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) staged a day-long dharna at Ambedkar Park on Tuesday seeking immediate relief to rain-affected farmers. The agitating farmers also reminded the government of its Rs 2 lakh farm loan waiver promise.
Warning the government of intensifying the agitation if their demands were not fulfilled, the protesting farmers handed over a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Kamal Nath. The Congress in its pre-poll ‘Vachan-Patra’ had promised to waive off farm loan, however the promise is still to be fulfilled, said the agitating farmers. BKS leaders claimed farmers had become loan defaulters with banks as they stopped repayment after the state government announced the waiver.
The leaders also accused the Congress government of ignoring farmers who suffered crop and property damage during heavy rains this season. They objecting to the government’s order of conducting the survey of the damaged crop said that there was no need for the exercise as the damage is pretty visible and the compensation to the farmers should be released without any delay.
Kharif (July-October sowing season) crops were destroyed due to heavy rains and if the government fails to provide immediate relief to the farmers, they would also end up losing the Rabi crops, the BKS leaders said.
Mahesh Chaudhary, Madhya Kshetra organizational general secretary, said, “ We handed over a memorandum to official giving them time to fulfill our demands like instant financial aid and other incentives for farmers.”
The government needs to understand the plight of farmers whose crops have been destroyed due to excessive rains, said Chaudhary. The government should act fast and provide immediate financial relief to the farmers for the loss they suffered, he added.
To ensure law and order during the agitation, the entire area was barricaded and huge police force was deployed.
