After 10-day long agitation, farmers to hold Bharat Bandh on June 10

NEW DELHI: A nation-wide bandh has been called by agitating farmers in parts of North India on Sunday, June 10. The Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, an umbrella body of 110 farmers' organisations have been protesting against the 'anti-farmer policies of the Central government'.

As a mark of protest, the farmers also stopped the supply of farm products such as vegetables, grains and milk to cities across the country for 10 days since June 1. They had urged traders' organisations to support their June 10 Bharat Bandh.

Among their many demands is a call for better prices for their produce.

The farmers claimed that though the government had promised a minimum support price (MSP) that was to be 50 per cent higher than the cost of production, they were yet to receive the higher prices.

The farmers' organisations demanded that the MSP be increased to the cost of production plus 50 per cent and a complete loan waiver from the government. 

We have been demanding that MSP be 1.5 times the entire cost of production including the cost of land. Though the government had declared it in their last budget there are no specifications and it is not going to help us," Shiv Kumar Kakka, a farmer leader from Madhya Pradesh had said.

In Punjab's Faridkot, farmers had thrown their produce and stopped supplies of vegetable, fruits and milk to cities, demanding farmer loan waiver and implementation of Swaminathan commission.

In Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal too, farmers had joined the 10-day strike 'Kisan Avkash' demanding loan waiver and implementation of Swaminathan commission.

Sharma had added that more than 130 Kisan morchas from across the country joined their ongoing protest movement.

"More than 130 farmers organisations are with us. This has now become a nationwide agitation. We have named the protest 'Gaon Band'. We won't go to cities, as we don't want to heckle the normal lives of the people," Sharma had said, adding that the organisation will convene in Bhopal on 11 June to discuss the further course of action.

(With inputs from PTI)