MUMBAI: Kisan Gujar, 71, has been closely following the farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s new farm laws at the borders of the national capital for the last three weeks. Gujar, one of the 5,000 farmers from Nasik who are scheduled to join the protesting cultivators in Delhi on December 24, said he is determined to stay there till the end, even though 29 farmers have died at the Singhu and Tikri borders of Delhi so far.
He said the farmers are set for a long battle amid bone-chilling cold in Delhi and carrying enough food items and necessary materials along with them.
Farmers from Maharashtra will organise a vehicle march from Nashik to Delhi on December 21 and join those protesting in the national capital. President of the Bharatiya Kisan Sabha Ajit Nawale said over 10,000 farmers from 21 districts of Maharashtra have extended their support to’ protest in Delhi.
He added that around 10,000 farmers will come at the Maharashtra border before the 5,000 farmers will leave for Delhi.
“We are firm on our demand to repeal the farm laws and bring a new law that will ensure the minimum support price (MSP) to farmers’ produce.
If the traders fail to pay as per the MSP, then actions should be taken against the errant traders,” Nawale said. Interestingly, among the protesting farmers in the state, many had earlier marched from Nasik to Mumbai in 2018 against the Maharashtra government agriculture policies. “Initially, we had planned to walk up to Delhi, but this would take a lot of time.
Therefore, we decided to go by vehicles. We will not come back until our demands are not met by the central government,” said Gujar. Sanjay Patil, 51, from Jalgaon said during the lockdown, agriculture was the only sector that helped the economy sustain. “Now, the government wants to break the backbone of the Indian economy, too. We will not allow this to happen,” Patil said.