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Day 3: Haryana arhtiyas protest near CM’s residence at Karnal
Slam Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar for not accepting their demands; farmers protest at Kurukshetra, seek early procurement of parmal varieties
Continuing their indefinite strike on the third consecutive day on Wednesday, hundreds of arhtiyas from across Haryana reached Karnal and held a protest outside chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s residence.
Led by Haryana State Anaj Mandi Arhtiyas Association chief Ashok Gupta, they tried to gherao the CM residence at Prem Nagar, but were stopped by the police about 100 metres before.
The sloganeering protesters accused the CM of not accepting their demands, including withdrawal of the notification mandating procurement of basmati paddy on the National Agricultural Market (e-NAM) portal.
Gupta said, “We have served a one-day ultimatum to the government. If the government does not accept our demands, I, along with seven other arhtiyas, will sit on an indefinite hunger strike from September 23.”
They also accused Haryana agriculture minister JP Dalal of not attending the meeting after calling them to Chandigarh.
Heavy police force was deployed near the CM residence to maintain law and order.
BKU seeks early procurement
Seeking the procurement of parmal paddy from the mandis of Haryana, scores of farmers on Wednesday held a protest at Shahabad in Kurukshetra. BKU (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni said arrival of paddy had started last week and farmers were camping at the mandis, waiting for the government to start procurement on MSP.
Charuni said the mandis were flooded with paddy but the government was not serious.
He also warned the Haryana government of serious consequences if the procurement did not start immediately. He urged the farmers from the region to reach Shahabad grain market on Thursday where they will decide on the future course of decision and also block NH 44.
