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New umbrella body of Uttar Pradesh farmers to hold first protest today
Issue of stray cattle, installation of electric meters, Agnipath recruitment scheme, sugarcane dues, law on MSP will be raised on priority, say Sanyukt Kisan Morcha leaders.
A Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) that has been set up in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) to highlight farmers’ issues and to get them resolved will hold its first protest across the state on Tuesday.
Twenty-two farmer organisations have set up the SKM on June 26. Its functionaries cleared that the umbrella body of farmers, is separate from the SKM that spearheaded the 13-month-long farmers’ stir against three contentious farm laws that were later repealed.
“To raise issues of farmers in Uttar Pradesh, 22 organisations of farmers and social activists set up the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha in Gajraula, Amroha on June 26. This is a separate entity and has nothing to do with SKM that spearheaded protests against three contentious farm laws,” said octogenarian farmer leader Harpal Singh Bilari, who heads BKU (Asli).
“At the first meeting of SKM, U.P., different issues of farmers and labourers were discussed. Leaders attended the meeting, accepted a 21-point agenda that needs to be addressed for the welfare of farmers,” said Bilari. He said in the first SKM meeting, it was unanimously decided to first take up five key issues which have been adversely affecting lives of people in villages.
“These include problems of stray cattle, installation of electric meters on farmers’ tube wells, new recruitment scheme in defence services, dues of sugarcane payment and need for making law to purchase farmers’ produce at minimum support price,” he said. He said there were other issues on the agenda too but these five issues were to be taken up on priority.
“On July 12, the leaders of the new farmers’ body would stage protests across the state and later hand over memorandum to officials at district headquarters,” he said. Bilari said that the newly formed body will coordinate with national level organisations and farmer leaders and seek their support.
