Punjab farmers to resume ‘tractor march’ to Delhi soon after roads open at Punjab-Haryana State boundaries

Farmers gear up for ‘Delhi Chalo’ march as Supreme Court directs police chiefs to plan road reopening

A day after the Supreme Court asked the Punjab and Haryana State police chiefs to chalk out a plan for the partial reopening of roads on the inter-State boundary, where farmer groups have been camping since February, the farmer leaders on Tuesday (August 13, 2024) asserted that they would resume their ‘tractor-trolley-Delhi Chalo’ march to lay siege to the national capital — New Delhi as soon as the roads were open.

The group of farmers under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) — the two umbrella bodies that are spearheading farmer’s agitation in Punjab — have been, since February 13, camping at Shambhu-Ambala and Khanauri-Jind (the inter-State boundaries between Haryana and Punjab) after being stopped from entering Haryana. They had earlier given the call for the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march to press for fulfillment of their demands, a legal guarantee for purchasing their crops at a Minimum Support Price (MSP) and a farm loan waiver are among the key ones.

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KMM coordinator Sarwan Singh Pandher told The Hindu on Tuesday “We welcome the direction from the Supreme Court about plan to open the roads. Once the roads are open, we will resume our ‘tractor-trolley Delhi Chalo’ march. We are waiting for directives of Supreme Court and also the State governments actions. We will hold a meeting in the next few days to announce a date to resume our march. As soon as the roads are open we will start the arrangements for resuming the march.”

Four rounds of meetings were held between the Centre government and farmer leaders before the Lok Sabha elections but it didn’t not result in anything concrete.

The farmers are on the streets ruing that the primary issue of concern for them is that still no law on MSP has been enacted, and also the Centre government is turning a blind eye to their other demands despite repeated appeals. The MSP is the price at which the government promises, on paper, to procure agricultural produce from farmers. There are MSPs for 22 crops, primarily grains, pulses and oil seeds, paddy and copra. According to studies, only a small share of farmers in the country benefits from MSPs. Farmers accuse that even as the Centre government promised to look into their demands during the earlier agitation on the controversial (repealed) farm laws, it has been going slow on its commitments.

The Supreme Court on August 12 urged neighbouring Punjab and Haryana to work together towards a phased opening of the long-blockaded at Shambhu between the two States.