Farmers in Rajasthan’s Baran clash with police over shortage of urea

Police said the farmers raised slogans and agitated, an officer said, and claimed that some also pelted stones at the samiti’s office, breaking several window panes.

Clashes erupted between farmers protesting over the shortage of urea in Baran’s Chhipabarod town and the police officers present there on Sunday, a day before the oath-taking ceremony of the new government in Rajasthan.

Police said they had to use mild force on farmers after they began creating ruckus upon being informed that there was not enough urea. (HT File / Photo used for representational purpose only)

Police said they had to use mild force after farmers, gathered at the Kray Vikray Sahkari Samiti office in Chhipabarod since the morning to get tokens for urea, began creating ruckus upon being informed that there was not enough urea. One farmer reportedly sustained injuries, following which others demonstrated outside the mandi and blocked the road for a while.

Farmers raised slogans and agitated, an officer said, and claimed that some also pelted stones at the samiti’s office, breaking several window panes.

Station House Officer, Chhipabarod, Ratan Singh Bhati claimed that the standoff happened because some people were breaking the queue after which the police had to intervene. The officer added that the injuries of the farmer, whose identity could not be ascertained, “were not serious”.

Baran district collector SP Singh said that although sufficient urea has been allocated for the district, there was still a shortage.

“Around 44,000 metric tonnes of urea has been distributed in Baran district so far against the total allocation of 57,000 metric tonnes which is sufficient. But farmers are stocking urea which is creating a crunch,” he claimed.

“We have written to the state government for additional allocation of urea,” he said.

Reacting to the development, Chhabra BJP MLA Pratap Singh Singhvi said the Congress must fulfil its promise of waiving the loan of farmers without any conditions. “(Ashok) Gehlot ji will take oath as chief minister on December 17 (Monday) and the government should announce the waiver before December 27.”

Singhvi, the only BJP MLA from Baran district’s four constituencies, said the Congress party had not mentioned any condition for loan waiver in its manifesto. “The party should not differentiate between small and medium scale farmers and should include loans from nationalised banks as well,” he said.