Rail roko attempt foiled as farmers taken into custody in Mysuru

Kurubur Shanthakumar, president, State Sugarcane Cultivators’ Association, said the Centre is least bothered about the predicament of the farmers or the crisis plaguing the agricultural sector. “It is content if industrialists like Adani and Ambani prosper,” he added.

An attempt by farmers to stage a rail roko in Mysuru was foiled by the police who restricted their entry and took them into custody, on December 18.

The farmers were led by Kurubur Shanthakumar, president, State Sugarcane Cultivators’ Association. The proposed rail roko was to express solidarity with the ongoing farmers’ agitation led by Jagjith Singh Dhalewal in Delhi.

Scores of farmers reached the city railway station around noon to stage a rail roko and block trains, but their entry was restricted till the circulation area where passengers and commuters disembark before entering the platform. There were arguments between the police led by ACP Ashwath Narayan and Kurubur Shanthakumar. The farmers questioned the police action of preventing them from entering the railway station and sought an explanation, but they were overpowered and bundled into the vans and taken into custody.

In a bid to circumvent the police, the farmers had divided themselves into different groups. A few farmers led by Attahalli Devaraj squatted on the railway track near the Bamboo Bazaar, but the police reached the spot and whisked them away as well.

Sources in the railways said there was no delay in arrival or departure of any train on account of the attempted rail roko.

Kurubur Shanthakumar said the farmers’ agitation is legitimate as they are trying to draw the government’s attention to their long-pending demands that included enactment of a law making procurement of crops at Minimum Support Price (MSP) statutory. The farmers also want the government to implement the recommendations of Dr. Swaminathan Committee report on MSP, and are also seeking pension for those who have attained 60 years of age, akin to those in the organised sector.

“The Centre is aware of the farmers’ demands. Instead of holding talks and thrashing out a solution, it has shed crocodile tears so far,” said Mr.Shanthakumar. “The agitation in Delhi is on since 23 days and the Centre is yet to hear out the farmers,” he added.