As several parts of the country bore the brunt of the ongoing 10-day farmers’ agitation, Union minister for ag... Read More

As several parts of the country bore the brunt of the ongoing 10-day farmers’ agitation, Union minister for agriculture and farmers’ welfare Radha Mohan Singh on Saturday described their protest as ‘bizarre’. He was referring to peasants spilling milk and throwing vegetables on roads as part of their stir, which began on Friday.

“Chaudah crore farmers mein se kewal paanch lakh iss strike mein shamil hein. Woh ek prakar ka anokha kaam kar rahe hein media mein bane rahne ke liye (There are 14 crore farmers in the country, but only around 5 lakh of them have joined the strike. What they are doing is a kind of bizarre work to remain in the media,” the minister said in Patna.

The strike has been called by the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh (RKM) on a demand for a blanket waiver of farm loans, hike in minimum support price (MSP) of farm produce and Rs 50 per litre price for milk, among other things.

On the second day of the strike, farmers’ outfits in the Bhatinda and Faridkot districts of Punjab tried to forcibly stop milk suppliers from distributing milk. Two such incidents happened on Saturday morning. At both places, the police had to detain farmers. In Rajasthan, the ongoing strike has started driving up prices of vegetables.

In the Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts of the desert state, where the bandh call has received maximum support, farmers have set up their own roadside stalls to sell vegetables and milk. They also stopped inter-state trucks supplying milk and vegetables. State cooperative milk tankers were also not spared. They were stopped and milk spilled on the road. Sources told TOI that milk supply in the region has been affected due to the strike. In Jaipur, too, business across several vegetable markets was affected. In Muhana mandi, prices of tomato went from Rs 5 to Rs 15 per kg.