Video Editor: Mohd irshad Alam
Hundreds of protesting farmers marched towards Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on 29 November, demanding that their issues be raised and resolved. The rally was organised by All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), in collaboration with more than 200 other farmers’ groups.
The distressed farmers told The Quint that after four years, the Modi-led government at the Centre has hardly done anything to fulfil the promises made to them.
Farmers claimed that failed harvests have pushed them to the brink, forcing them to borrow money at high interest rates to buy seeds, fertilisers and food for their cattle.
Family members of deceased farmers participating in the march carried photographs of their relatives who committed suicide.
Another farmer told The Quint that the loans are skyrocketing. She pays her tractor’s loan from what she makes from her crop. However, if the crop fails, she doesn’t get insurance or any sort of compensation for her crop. According to her, all the government schemes are a ‘cover’ for the insurance companies to earn profit.
The farmers also want a special Parliament session to discuss two Bills – Farmers’ Freedom from Indebtedness Bill, 2018, and Farmers’ Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Commodities Bill, 2018. They have vowed not to stop till their demands are met.
The farmers will stage a mass protest on 30 November to send their message across to the government. They will walk from Ramlila Maidan to the Parliament Street to demand a Joint Session of Parliament to discuss the agrarian crisis in India.
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