The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) (non-political) announced a 228-km “Kisan Bachao Padyatra” (footmarch) from Data Singh Wala village on the Haryana-Punjab border to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, beginning August 16 and culminating with a farmers’ panchayat in the national capital on August 29.
The announcement was made after a meeting of the SKM leaders held in Jind chaired by farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal. The march will be organised against the proposed India-US trade deal and to demand a legal guarantee for crop procurement at MSP using the Swaminathan Commission’s C2+50% formula, among other demands.
Dallewal said the march would be completely peaceful and disciplined, with 51 farmers from different parts of the country remaining permanent participants throughout the journey and covering the entire 228-km route on foot.
Around 200 additional farmers, volunteers and support personnel associated with the SKM will accompany the marchers during the journey, he said, adding that elaborate arrangements had been planned to ensure that the march will not disrupt traffic.
The SKM has demanded that agriculture, dairy, poultry and fisheries be kept outside the proposed agreement stating that these sectors must be protected from any adverse impact of the trade deal. The farmers have also demanded a legal guarantee for procurement of all crops at MSP based on the Swaminathan Commission’s C2+50% formula.
{{/usCountry}}The SKM has demanded that agriculture, dairy, poultry and fisheries be kept outside the proposed agreement stating that these sectors must be protected from any adverse impact of the trade deal. The farmers have also demanded a legal guarantee for procurement of all crops at MSP based on the Swaminathan Commission’s C2+50% formula.
{{/usCountry}}The organisation has urged the government to ensure that any proposed trade agreement does not adversely affect Indian farmers, agricultural incomes or domestic markets.
The proposed route will take the march through several important agricultural areas of Haryana before entering Delhi. The foot march will begin from Data Singh Wala and pass through Narwana, Uchana, Khatkar toll plaza, Jind, Ludana, Gohana, Israna and Samalkha, before proceeding towards the Singhu border and finally reaching Jantar Mantar.
Dallewal said the march will begin on August 16, the day associated with the death of farmer Shubham during the earlier farmers’ agitation at Khanauri, and will therefore also be held in his memory.