Farmers To Boycott Procurement Agencies From April 13

Thousands of farmers yesterday vowed to boycott government procurement agencies from April 13, unless the Centre announces a minimum wheat support price of Rs 615 per quintal.

The farmers had travelled from different parts of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra to attend a Kisan Rally, organised in Chandigarh by the Kisan Coordination Committee. The committee is a forum of 56 farmers organisations, including the Bharatiya Kisan Union and the Shetkari Sangathan.

The gathering resolved to commence an agitation from April 13, the date of the Baisakhi festival. From that date, farmers will stop selling their grain to government procurement agencies. However, they will be free to sell their wheat to private agencies which accept the minimum price demanded by them.

 

The farmers will step up their stir from April 28, when they will organise a symbolic Satyagrah at Panipat by stopping all rail and road traffic and courting arrest.

In the final round of their agitation, the farmers will block rail and road traffic on all the five routes leading to Delhi, namely Delhi - Mathura, Delhi-Panipat, Delhi-Rohtak, Delhi-Ghaziabad and Delhi-Gurgaon. This blockade is planned to be continued till the government gives in to the farmers.

Apart from a hike in the minimum support price, the farmers also want the government to desist from all procurement of agricultural produce at less than prevailing market prices; remove all restrictions on export of agricultural produce; desist from all non-commercial import of agricultural produce and abolish restrictions on free trade and movement of farm commodities.

Addressing the rally, Shetkari Sangathan chief Sharad Joshi strongly criticised the governments decision to import wheat. The government is keen to benefit the farmers of Canada and Australia, but not the countrys farmers, thundered Joshi.

Joshi alleged that 8 lakh tonnes of imported wheat was already lying at various stages of decay in different godowns of the country. He also appealed to the public to boycott imported wheat.

Bharatiya Kisan Union president Bhupinder Singh Mann accused the Centre of treating farmers like enemies. What is the logic behind importing wheat at much higher prices than the minimum support price we have demanded, he queried. When wheat is available in abundance in the country, it is ridiculous on the part of the government to import wheat, he added.