Farmers call bandh in 3 districts on Dec 1

The Gujarat Khedut Samaj (farmers' association) has given a call for a bandh in the districts of Surat, Valsad and Navsari on December 1 demanding repeal of the hike in power tariff and irrigation charges imposed by the state government.

The leaders of the association described the bandh as the last notice to the Gujarat government.

The call was given by the association leaders at a convention at the Swaraj Ashram at Bardoli, about 35 kms from Surat, on Sunday.

The leaders said they will not even allow trucks carrying essential commodities to ply on the roads on December 1.

"The bandh has to be very effective. We will ensure its success," the association president Bipinbhai Desai said.

The convention was attended by hundreds of farmers from different districts of south Gujarat including Surat, Navsari, Valsad and Bharuch.

Speakers at the convention lashed out at the Narendra Modi government.

The government ordered the Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) to cut the electricity connection to farmers who do not pay bills, ignoring their problems, the speakers said.

Surat district khedut samaj president Karanbhai Patel said, "On the one hand the government has imposed a high power and irrigation charge on the farmers and on the other it failed to give remunerative prices to the farmers."

He alleged that the Gujarat government was pro-industry and anti-farmer. The industries in the state are getting power on a continuous basis, while the farm sector was forced to pay a bigger amount for electricity, he said.

Samaj secretary Bhagubhai Patel said, "The government order to the GEB has come as a rude jolt to the farming community of Gujarat."