At Ghazipur, 2 elderly UP farmers start indefinite hunger strike

“On hunger strike following Gandhi ‘s principles,” read the message written on the paper mask on Chand’s face. He has been on an indefinite hunger strike and a silent protest since Monday, demanding revocation of the three new farm laws passed by the Centre. He was also joined by Prasad on Tuesday.

On a makeshift stage set-up on the Delhi-Meerut expressway, one of the prominent sites for ongoing farmers protests, all eyes were on Suresh Chand (60) and Bhudev Prasad (70).

Chand and Prasad, both farmers from Uttar Pradesh, had taped their face with paper messages on them. (Fareeha Iftikhar/HT Photo)

Chand and Prasad, both farmers from Uttar Pradesh, had taped their face with paper messages on them.

“On hunger strike following Gandhi ‘s principles,” read the message written on the paper mask on Chand’s face. He has been on an indefinite hunger strike and a silent protest since Monday, demanding revocation of the three new farm laws passed by the Centre. He was also joined by Prasad on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, both were responding to queries of people around them by writing down their answers in a notebook they kept with them.

Chand, a resident of Summer Pur village in Firozabad, said he will not break his silence or eat anything till the Central government revokes the three new laws. He said that his family of 11 is dependent on the produce they grow on a 4.5 acre land. “We grow wheat, rice, maize, and potatoes on a seven bigha land and don’t earn much out of it. The new farm laws will reduce our income. already have a debt of Rs 5,000 from the bank.”

Similarly, Prasad, who hails from a village in Aligarh, said that he is in debt. “I have Rs 2 lakh to repay. My family of eight is completely dependent on the 12 acres of land we own. We primarily grow sugarcane and we don’t receive our payments on time from the mill owners. That’s why we are always under debt.”

“This is our state when we have Minimum Support Price (MSP). Imagine what happens when MSP is withdrawn. If we do not fight against these laws now our grandchildren will be working in someone else’s farms a few years down the line,” he said.

The farmers fear the new laws will do away with the guaranteed MSP, enabling private players to procure produce at much lower rates. The government has been stating that MSP system will not be done away with.

Jagtar Singh Bajwa, a farmer from Uttrakhand protesting at Ghazipur border, said, “More people will join these two in their hunger strike in the coming days if the government does not listen to our demands.