Protesting farmers who had blocked National Highway 44 near Kurukshetra have agreed to lift the 21-hour blockade after the Haryana government agreed to their demand for early procurement of paddy.
In a hearing on the blockade that ran late into the night, the Haryana High court told the state authorities that necessary steps must be taken to keep the highway open to ensure "free flow and movement of traffic without any hindrance, so the public at large is not put to inconvenience."
The high court also pulled up the district administration for not anticipating and preventing such a situation.
The matter was resolved with the farmers amicable, and they have agreed to remove all blockade. Traffic is moving now, Kurukshetra Superintendent of Police Surinder Singh Bhoria was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Why Were the Farmers Protesting?
The protesting farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Gurnam Singh Chaduni, sought an advancement in the procurement date.
The official date for producrement of paddy by the state is 1 October. However the farmers feared that their grains would rot by then because of the rains and humidity. They also said they don't have space to store the grains.
Although the state has now said it will start moving all paddy stored in grain markets, they have also said that they will only process the official documents of purchase on October 1 as announced earlier.
"It's their headache now where they are going to store it," Gurnam Singh Charuni, head of Bharatiya Kisan Union-Charuni was quoted as saying by NDTV.
(With inputs from NDTV and Indian Express.)
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