Farmers walk 450 km to make their demands heard

A group of farmers today concluded 20-day 'Vedana Yatra' (grief tour) at the state capital Gandhinagar, covering 450 km across six districts of Gujarat on foot, and submitted their demands to the government.
Led by members of Gujarat Khedut Samaj (GKS) members Sagar Rabari, Pinakin Dhamalia and Rupesh, hundreds of farmers joined the Yatra it passed through Gir Somnath, Junagadh, Rajkot, Botad and Ahmedabad districts.
Participants talked with farmers on the way and noted their demands, said GKS secretary Sagar Rabari.
The Yatra had started from Veraval in Gir Somnath district.
"Police prevented us from marching to the Chief Minister's office, but we were allowed to hand over memorandum of our demands (to officials), with the promise that Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will give us appointment in the next 3-4 days," he said.

Farmers who joined the rally on the way said they had been badly hit by demonetisation, Rabari said. Fruit and vegetable farmers were forced to sell their perishable produce at a very low price (for want of demand), he added.

Demands in the memorandum included repeal of four 'anti-farmer' acts: Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 2015, SIR Act, Irrigation and Drainage Act and Urban Development and Town Planning Act.
The farmers also demanded complete waiver of farm loans, 100 per cent increase in minimum support prices, construction of cold storage for every five villages and a white paper on Kalpsar Project, among other things.

"We also want the government to come up with an agricultural policy and a Krishi Ayog, and provide electricity to farmers for 24 hours from the present eight hours," Rabari said.