Farmers stage protest demanding legal guarantee for minimum support price

A group of about 75 farmers owing allegiance to the Desiya Thennindhiya Nadhigal Inaippu Vivasayigal Sangam staged a demonstration near the Collectorate here on Friday urging the Centre to enact a law to provide minimum support prices (MSP) for agricultural produce. The demonstration was led by sangam’s State president P. Ayyakannu. 

A group of about 75 farmers owing allegiance to the Desiya Thennindhiya Nadhigal Inaippu Vivasayigal Sangam staged a demonstration near the Collectorate here on Friday urging the Centre to enact a law to provide minimum support prices (MSP) for agricultural produce. The demonstration was led by sangam’s State president P. Ayyakannu. 

According to the sangam, the Centre had not kept its promise of providing profitable prices for agricultural produce, including paddy and sugarcane. When the Centre had waived huge amount of loans taken by corporate companies from the public sector banks, it was not doing the same for farmers throughout the country who had taken loans from banks, it said. 

The protesters wanted farmers who were arrested recently at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana to be released. 

Meanwhile, a group of 13 persons led by Ayilai Siva Suriyan, district secretary of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, were held by the police after they staged a demonstration at the Collectorate for the same demand. The protesters were left off after some time, said police sources.