Page 3 - Farmers Issues

Farmers' protest continues at Shambhu railway station; more trains affected

Farmers under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha continued to sit on a rail track in Patiala district near the Punjab-Haryana border on Thursday, demanding release of three farmers arrested by the Haryana Police. With their protest continuing, the railway authorities, under the Ambala railway division, on Thursday said 53 more trains were cancelled, 12 were short-terminated and 23 were diverted. The disruption in rail movement was causing inconvenience to rail passengers. Farmers are demanding the release of three fellow farmers, including Navdeep Singh, who were arrested by the Haryana Police during the ongoing stir. They have said they will not end their protest until their fellow protesters are released. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said their protest was going on. Ambala railway division, senior divisional commercial manager, Naveen Kumar said the movement of many trains have been affected because of the farmers' protest at

Mechanisation and digitisation: Uttar Pradesh farmers eye rich harvest

From drones to laser levellers, farmers in UP are increasingly adopting technology, Aditi Phadnis reports from the fields of Mohanlalgunj, near Lucknow

Govt to procure selected crops at MSP if farmers opt for diversification

The government is planning to undertake guaranteed procurement of pulses -- tur, urad and masoor -- and maize at MSP from farmers if they opt for diversification from paddy crop, sources said. The Centre also mulling procuring cotton at minimum support price (MSP) without any condition of diversification, they said. The government agencies like NAFED and NCCF may enter into contracts with farmers for five years, official sources said. According to sources, the government could consider procurement of pulses, maize and cotton at MSP without any quantative restrictions, in case the farmers opt to move away from the water-guzzling paddy crop. A portal is being created by the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry where farmers can register by providing details like their Aadhaar Card number. In the portal, farmers will have to self-certify and mention diversification into these pulses and maize crops. Last month, a panel of three Union ministers proposed buying of these five crops by ...

Farmer leaders will see reason, call off protest, says Piyush Goyal

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that the Modi government is committed to the welfare of farmers and exuded confidence that the farmer leaders will see reason and call off their protest. Food Minister Goyal, along with Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai have held four rounds of talks with the farmers' group who are seeking a legal guarantee on MSP (minimum support price). He said that the government always support farmers and it stands by them. "Please don't get misled by the propaganda of some people. This government is committed to the interest of farmers and we are totally committed to a bright future for every farmer." The minister said that he along with the agriculture minister and the Minister of State for Home Affairs had suggested to the farmer leaders on how the government can work with them for a better future for the farming community and to help the country become self-reliant. "I am confident that th

SC calls farmers' protest serious, says don't file petitions for publicity

Issues related to farmers' protest are "serious", the Supreme Court said on Monday and asked a litigant to desist from filing petitions based only on newspaper reports for publicity. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan, allowed petitioner Agnostos Theos, the Managing Director of the Sikh Chamber of Commerce, to withdraw his plea that alleged violation of the rights of the "peacefully protesting" farmers by the Centre and some states. A request for withdrawal of the plea was made at the very start of the hearing by a counsel for Theos who said he intended to amend the petition. "These are very serious issues. Don't file these petitions based only on newspapers reports for publicity purposes. Only those persons who are serious and committed should file these petitions. If you have gone through the newspaper reports, then you must be aware that the high court is seized of the matter," Justice Kant told the counsel. The bench said the petitioner must know that the high co

Maharashtra govt working towards doubling income of farmers: CM Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday said the state government has implemented various schemes for farmers aimed at doubling their income. Addressing a gathering at the inauguration of Balasaheb Thackeray Shetkari Training Centre in Washim, Shinde said the government has always stood behind agriculturists during drought, excess rain, and other issues. Notably, Washim is one of the districts in the Vidarbha region known as the country's largest cotton-growing belt. "The Mahayuti government was formed inspired by the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray. We have provided financial assistance totalling Rs 35,000 crore to farmers in the last 17 to 24 months," he said. In a first, the government has provided crop insurance to farmers by paying only Rs 1, said Shinde who became the chief minister in June 2022 after toppling the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. "The government has launched various schemes for farmers and aims at doubling their income," he added. The Shetkari Bhava

LS Polls: BJP seeks to woo farmers, poor under GYAN campaign in UP

The BJP in Uttar Pradesh will be seeking to increase its vote count through its campaign GYAN Ghareeb, Youth, Annadata, Nari by taking its work among the young, poor and farmers, and women. The campaign has been forged in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to party workers in the state to increase the vote count in each booth by 370 votes a cue to remind people that it was the BJP government which enabled the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Modi had earlier in February claimed that BJP will cross the 400-mark in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. There are more than 1.60 lakh booths in the state with an average of 950 voters registered in each of them. According to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, about 15.29 crore people are expected to exercise their franchise in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. According to BJP's election strategists, if each booth increases its vote count by 370, it will amount to 6 crore more votes for the ..

Delhi Chalo protest: Farmers plan to march to Delhi on Wednesday

Farm union leaders are seeking guarantees of state support or a minimum purchase price for farmers' produce

Need for farmers to adopt best practices, technologies: UP Dy CM Pathak

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Sunday said that there was a need for the farmers to adopt best practices and technologies, and avail benefits of the government schemes. Pathak said this wile addressing an event organised by the Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) to present innovative Farmer Awards 2024 at the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research institute here as part of the Uttar Pradesh AgroTech 2024 event. The deputy chief minister said recognising the farmers for their outstanding work will encourage more of them for grater innovations in agriculture. "Our government is fully committed to empowering farmers with technology and marketing support," Pathak said. "There is a need for the farmers to adopt best practices and technologies and avail the benefits of the flagship programmes and schemes launched by the state government," he added. Pathak said Uttar Pradesh is leading in the production of different commodities such as wheat, sugarcane,

Protection for Indian farmers, fishermen ensured at WTO MC 13: Piyush Goyal

Emphasisng the importance of securing their well-being, Goyal stated, "I think that India has successfully delivered on the issues that were our role and has achieved the outcomes that we expected"

Haryana Samyukta Kisan Morcha to hold large gathering in Delhi on March 14

Haryana farmers have formed HSKM, which includes the different 18 outfits of the state

Govt open for talks with farmers, solution needs to be found: Arjun Munda

The government is open for talks with protesting farmers but no meeting has been fixed as yet, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda on Wednesday said, adding that a solution needs to be found soon. The minister was speaking on the sidelines of the 95th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Society. When asked about plan to hold the next round of talks with the farmer groups, Munda said, "nothing as of now". However, he said that talks will be held as a solution need to be found. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) are spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' march to press the government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops and farm loan waiver. In the fourth round of talks with the farmer leaders on Februray 18, a panel of three Union ministers proposed that government agencies would buy pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP for five years after entering

Highlights: Traffic affected at Delhi-UP borders due to farmers' stir

Farmers' protest highlights: Catch all the latest updates on the farmers' protest here

Farmers' protest: Barrier removed for commuters at Singhu, Tikri borders

On Sunday, the city police removed two huge cement barriers for those commuters who walk towards Delhi using a small passage at the Singhu and Tikri borders

Farmers' protest: Haryana extends mobile internet suspension in 7 districts

The Haryana government has further extended the suspension of mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts by a day till Saturday in the wake of the ongoing farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' agitation, according to an official order. Mobile internet and bulk SMS services were first suspended in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa on February 11 and the suspension was extended on February 13, 15, 17, 19, 20 and 21. In the order issued on Friday, Additional Chief Secretary T V S N Prasad said, "After assessment of the current prevailing law and order situation in the state, the conditions are still critical and tense in the district Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa." "...There is a clear potential of disruption of public utilities, damage to public assets and amenities and disturbance of public law and order in these districts on account of misuse of internet services by way of spread of inflammatory material and false rumours,

Farmers' protest: Candle marches to be held at Shambhu, Khanauri borders

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that on February 26, effigies of the WTO, corporate houses and governments will be burned

'Delhi Chalo': Will decide next course of action on Feb 29, say farmers

Farmer leaders Friday said they will decide their next course of action on their 'Delhi Chalo' call on February 29, and announced a candle march on Saturday and burning of Centre's effigies two days later. A decision to this effect was taken Friday evening by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), which are spearheading the ongoing agitation at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Haryana and Punjab over various demands including a legal guarantee for MSP. "The next announcement about the agitation will be made on February 29," KMM leader Sarwan Singh Pandher told the media at the Khanauri border point. He also announced they will hold a candle march on February 24 and will burn the effigies of the Centre on February 26. Farmers leaders had Wednesday put the 'Delhi Chalo' march on hold for two days after a protester was killed and about 12 police personnel were injured in clashes at Khanauri. The incident took place when some protestin

Farmers' protest: SKM observes 'black day', burns effigies of BJP leaders

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) observed a "black day" on Friday and burnt effigies of BJP leaders in protest against the Haryana Police's action against agitating farmers camping at two of the state's border points. The call was given by the SKM on Thursday to mourn the death of Shubhkaran Singh, who died in clashes between the Haryana Police and farmers from Punjab. The incident took place on Wednesday when the farmers taking part in a "Delhi Chalo" march organised by their unions rushed to the multi-layer barricades set up by authorities to prevent them from proceeding with their plan and clashed with police at the Khanauri border point between Punjab and Haryana. The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), which is a part of the SKM, said on Friday that it held demonstrations at 47 places in 17 Punjab districts in protest against Singh's death. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said they burnt effigies of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Haryana Chief Minis

LS polls: Odisha extends farmers' welfare scheme 'KALIA' for another 3 yrs

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the Odisha government on Thursday decided to extend its farmers' welfare scheme 'KALIA' for another three years, sanctioning a total outlay of Rs 6,029.70 crore for the purpose. The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved three proposals in this regard, Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain told reporters. He said the state has been implementing the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme since 2018-19 as a majority of the population of the state is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Similarly, the state had implemented the KALIA scholarship to ensure the educational development of the children of KALIA beneficiaries so that they avail of professional and technical education in different educational institutions, Swain said. For hassle-free and smooth implementation of this welfare scheme and to bring the ..

Protesting farmers to pay any loss to public property: Ambala Police

"Proceedings have been initiated under the NSA National Security Act 1980/NSA against the chief officials of farmer organizations and the agitators," the Ambala police said on X