On Friday, thousands of farmers in various parts of the nation have launched a 10-day nation-wide strike demanding waiver of loans, right price for their crops and implementation of recommendations of Swaminathan Commission.

The strike is being spearheaded by Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Mahasangh (RKS). RKS was formed in Bhopal with the participation of 17 farmers' bodies from across the country and many organisations joined it later on.

Farmers from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have participated in the strike.

Also read Milk continues to spill in Nashik

In Punjab's Faridkot, farmers held back supplies like vegetable, fruits and milk from being supplied to cities. In Ludhiana's Samrala, they spilled milk on the road.

In Maharashtra's Sangamner, angry protestors emptied milk tanker on the street.

Raveena Tandon wrote on Twitter: “What a sad thing to happen . Terrible way to protest. Any harm to public property, transport or commodities, should be instantly arrested and jailed without bail.”

What a sad thing to happen . Terrible way to protest. Any harm to public property,transport or commodities,should be instantly arrested and jailed without bail . https://t.co/kDcIg1zP5h — Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) June 3, 2018

Farmers strike: Milk tanker emptied on the street in Maharashtra's Sangamner https://t.co/ZWGfBOVIPo pic.twitter.com/gxotmkJcQW — DNA (@dna) June 1, 2018

In Nashik and Ahmednagar, farmers spilled several tankers of milk on the Mumbai-Nashik and Ahmednagar-Pune highways on Saturday. “It has been year since the last strike, but the government has failed to fulfil the promises of complete farm loan waiver, implementations of Dr Swaminathan commission report for fair prices to farm produce, etc,” said Ashok Dhavale, president of Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha.

In Nashik, some farmers wore garlands of onions as a mark of protest. “Onion prices are at an all-time low,” said Tukaram Patil, an onion farmer from the region. “If a farmer cannot even recover expenses, how will he survive?” said Tukaram Patil, the onion farmer from the region. “We also threw several truckloads of onions on the road. Since the BJP government came in power, not a single crop has be rated at the fair price. The is an injustice; we have been cheated.”

Union Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh’s statement, terming the strike as political stunt caused an uproar. State Congress president Ashok Chavan said the statement shows how serious the BJP government is about the issue. “More than 15,000 farmers committed suicides in last four years in Maharashtra,” he said. “Every day, 35 farmers end their life in India. This is happening because of BJP’s faulty and anti-farmer policy.”

Chavan said that the union minister should apology for his statement. “Agriculture growth has also fallen. It is now 1.9 per cent, as against the 4.2 per cent seen during the UPA regime,” he added. “Farmers have lost trust in the government. People will teach them lesson in the general and state elections.”

With inputs from PTI