Farmers protest LIVE: Have invited farmers for talks on Dec 1, says Tomar

Farmers protest LIVE updates: Supply of vegetables and fruits to the city from other states has been impacted

7:28 PM

Farmers protest impact: Supply of vegetables, fruits from other states impacted

The supply of vegetables and fruits to the city from other states has been impacted and it has been halved at Azadpur Mandi, one of Delhi's largest wholesale market, owing to the protest by farmers at the Singhu and Tikri border points of the national capital for the last five days. Vendors in other parts of Delhi said due to curtailed supply, the wholesale rates of seasonal vegetables has gone up by Rs 50- Rs 100.

 

They said the roadblock at Singhu and Tikri border has impacted supply of vegetables and fruits from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The arrival of vegetables and fruits to Delhi's largest wholesale market at Azadpur has been reduced by half due to the closed borders, said Adil Khan, chairman Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee at Azadpur.

 

"During normal days, around 2,500 trucks of vegetables and fruits used to arrive at Azadpur Mandi from other states. The number has come down to around 1,000 trucks now and if the borders remained closed for a few more days, the situation will worsen," Khan said.

7:09 PM

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury writes to PM Modi asking for special loan packages for agriculture sector

7:04 PM

Laws made for corporates and people being exploited: Bhartiya Kisan Union

6:46 PM

Modi govt authoritarian; wont go to Burari: Farmers

The agitating farmers on Monday accused the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre of being communal, fascist and authoritarian, and rejected the government's demand to assemble at the Sant Nirankari ground in Burari to stage their protest. Addressing a press conference here at the Delhi-Haryana border in Singhu, Darshan Pal, President of the Krantikari Kisan Union's Punjab chapter, said, "The Modi government speaks something else on face but has a dagger on its side. The BJP is a communal, fascist and authoritarian."

 

Pal said that the farmers will hold another meeting to strengthen the movement.

 

"We reject the proposal. We have come here to tell our story and we won't step back," he said, rejecting the offer of the government to move to the Burari ground for the protest.

 

Activist Yogendra Yadav also addressed the press conference and described the farmers' protest as a "historic" moment. Yadav said, "This is happening after 31 years. Previously, Mahendra Singh Tikait had brought the farmers together."

6:33 PM

No social distancing at protest, farmer leaders says new laws bigger threat than coronavirus

Amid fears that the Delhi Chalo' protests by farmers will lead to coronavirus spreading faster, their leaders said the black laws enacted at the Centre are a bigger threat than the contagion. There had been few signs of social distancing as thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana began their protest last week against the three new agro-marketing laws, setting off on a march to the national capital.

 

On the way, they skirmished with police at barricades and since Friday are massed at Delhi's entry points, many of them sheltering inside tractor-trolleys. Masks appear to be a rarity and there is little attempt at keeping distance from each other, safeguards meant to prevent the infection from spreading. But as experts fear that the event could become a coronavirus superspreader, farm leaders say there are more pressing concerns before them.

 

The new farm laws brought by the (Narendra) Modi government are a bigger threat than coronavirus as farmers fear they will lose their livelihood with the implementation of these laws, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan told PTI.

6:24 PM

31 cases registered against us to suppress our agitation: Farmer leader

6:20 PM

Have come to Delhi for decisive battle, say farmer leaders; Protest against agri laws to continue

Farmers protesting against the Centre's new agri laws at Delhi border points on Monday said they have come to the national capital for a "decisive battle" and asserted that they will continue their agitation until their demands are met. Addressing a press conference at Singhu border, a representative of protesting farmers said that they want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to listen to their "mann ki baat'.

 

"Our demands are non-negotiable," he said and claimed the ruling party "will have to pay a heavy price" if it does not heed to their concerns. "We have come here to fight a decisive battle," he said.

 

Another farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni said that around 31 cases have so far been registered against protestors to "suppress" their agitation. Chaduni said that farmers will continue their agitation until their demands are met.

6:10 PM

Delhi CM Kejriwal urges people to extend all possible help to protesting farmers

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday appealed to the people of Delhi to extend all possible help to the farmers protesting against the new farm laws at the Singhu and Tikri border points of the national capital and urged the Centre to hold talks with them at the earliest. Kejriwal wished everyone on the occasion of Gurupurab, also known as Guru Nanak Jayanti, and said AAP volunteers and MLAs are helping the farmers, who have been braving the cold weather to hold the protest, in any possible way they can.

 

Thousands of farmers continued to protest against the new agri laws for the fifth consecutive day on Monday, staying put at the Singhu and Tikri border points of the national capital, even as the Delhi Police enhanced security at the Ghazipur border with Uttar Pradesh as the number of protesting farmers swelled there.

 

Kejriwal wished everyone on the occasion of Gurupurab in a video message.

 

"On this occasion, I appeal to all Delhiites to do whatever they can for the protesting farmers in all possible ways," he said. Kejriwal also appealed to the government to hold talks with the farmers at the earliest.

6:02 PM

LIVE: We will continue our agitation until demands are met, say farmer leaders

5:59 PM

Tractor-trolleys, farm equipment turn into temporary shelters for protesting farmers

Tractor-trolleys and key farm equipment have turned into temporary shelters for thousands of farmers who have assembled at the borders of the to protest against the Centre's new farm laws. The ongoing protests by thousands of farmers entered the fifth day on Monday, with the protesters threatening to block all five entry points to Delhi.

 

As temperatures have dipped, the farmers demanding that the laws be repealed are spending the chilly nights inside their tractor-trolleys covered with tarpaulin, which they have turned into temporary shelters. Most of the farmers have brought at least two trolleys with each tractor with one of them carrying ration and other essentials and the other being used to accommodate the protesters.

 

Stubble or crop residue, disposal of which otherwise becomes a major challenge for the farmers, is also coming in handy as many have cushioned their trolleys with layers of straw and laid mattresses over it to protect them from the cold. Night temperatures over the last few days have been settling in the range of around 9 degrees Celsius. The tractor-trolleys have occupied over a 10-km-long area in this Haryana district which lies along the Ambala-Delhi national highway.

5:49 PM

New farm laws provide options to farmers, benefits will be experienced soon: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted that his government's new agricultural reforms have empowered the farmers and given them new options and legal protection. He said that the benefits of these new laws will be experienced in the coming days.

 

The prime minister said in his address in Varanasi where he dedicated to the nation the six-lane widened Handia (Prayagraj)-Rajatalab (Varanasi) section of National Highway 19.

 

"India's agricultural products are famous all over the world. Should not the farmer have access to this big market and higher prices? Shouldn't a farmer get the freedom to sell his produce directly to those who give them better prices and facilities. If someone considers transactions from the old system only, then where has that been stopped?," Prime Minister said.

 

"Earlier, transactions outside the market were illegal. In such a situation, small farmers used to get cheated. Now the small farmer can also take legal action on every deal that is out of the market," he said.

5:26 PM

We rejected the conditional invitation of Modiji: Bharti Kisan Union

5:15 PM

PM Modi attacks opposition, says they play tricks on farmers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday tore into the opposition over the protests against the new agri-marketing laws, accusing them of playing tricks against the farmers. The attack comes when thousands of farmers are gathered at the entry points of the national capital, seeking the repeal of the three laws, which Modi called historic.

 

"The farmers are being misled on these historic agriculture reform laws by the same people who for decades have misled them," he said, referring to the opposition parties but not directly naming them.

 

The prime minister was addressing a public meeting in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, where he was scheduled to spend several hours. Modi said apprehensions and protests are being whipped up by those opposing the Acts. They are misleading society, he said.

4:59 PM

Farm laws bring new options to farmers: PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that the new farm laws have brought new options and opportunities for farmers and also provides legal protection against to them. Speaking at function in Varanasi, the Prime Minister began his speech with 'Har Har Mahadev' and said that while everyone can raise questions in a democracy but there is a new trend in which some people are spreading misinformation and canards against the decisions taken by the government.

 

"These forces have spread misinformation to such an extent that it is unbelievable. They did not even allow welfare schemes to be implemented in states where they are in power," he said. He said that the old system option was still open for farmers.

 

"These are the same people who have been duping farmers for decades. The MSP was always announced but never implemented. Their mega schemes never reached the beneficiaries," he said. The Prime Minister listed the various schemes announced by his government for farmers including mobile cold storage, micro irrigation and access to a global market. "Black rice from this region now has a market in Australia," he said.

4:36 PM

Farmers protest at Delhi borders may act as Covid-19 superspreader' event: Experts

The protest by thousands of farmers who have stayed put at various border points of Delhi for the fifth consecutive day on Monday against the Centre's new agriculture reform laws may act as superspreader' event for coronavirus infection, say experts. The national capital has already been witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases post Diwali celebrations and amid rising pollution levels.

 

Samiran Panda, who heads the Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases (ECD) division of the ICMR, sought strict compliance to protective and preventive behaviour to curb the spread of the infection.

 

"A protest is a mass gathering and thus from a public health perspective, I would suggest protective and preventive behaviours against the spread of coronavirus infection failing which a superspreading event might set in. "It is important to note that the SARS-COV-2 is a transmission efficient virus and such gatherings are conducive for its spread," he stressed.

Any agitation or gathering may cause the spread of COVID-19 and thus gatherings should be avoided during this time and if it cannot be avoided at all, social distancing norms must be maintained, Sanjay Rai, professor in the Department of Community Medicine at AIIMS said.