Two-day farmer protest rally begins in Delhi

More than one lakh farmers, belonging to 200 farmers' organisations, gathered in the national capital on Thursday to push their demands, including implementation of the MS Swaminathan Committee report, farm loan waiver and better Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their agricultural produce.

The rally has been organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) for two days (29-30 November) against the ongoing rural distress. The distressed peasants will start their march from five different areas of Delhi, namely Hazrat Nizamuddin, Bijwasan, Sabzi Mandi station, ANVT terminus and Majnu ka Tila to the Ramlila Maidan.

From the past couple of months, the country has witnessed a number of protests by farmers. On October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, farmers from the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab were not allowed to launch a protest in Delhi, which later led to a violent confrontation with the state police at the Delhi border.

Maharashtra's Mumbai too caught the attention of media recently, as thousands of farmers under the aegis of Lok Sangharsh Morcha on November 22 marched towards Azad Maidan to press for their demands, which include farmland ownership and implementation of Forest Rights Act.

In March, around 25,000 farmers under the banner of All India Kisan Sabha carried out a protest march in the national capital demanding a complete farm loan waiver.