NEW DELHI: Protesting farmers were vocal about their local problems on Monday during the agitation at Jantar Mantar.
Ram Singh, who came from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh said, “This year, I sowed paddy in my fields. The yield was good and I was expecting good profit, but one day when I went to a relative’s wedding ceremony, animals destroyed the crops.” With grief, he said that he is worried about he is going to repay his loans.
Another farmer, Wilson, who travelled from Kerela said, “The government made the buffer zone around the protected areas of forest. Due to this, our farming patterns have changed which indirectly impact our yield and profit as well.” He added that Kerala is known for growing coconut, but the farmers are consistently under debt with the rising input cost.
Many farmers from the Bundelkhand region in MP also raised their concerns. Amit Singh, a member of the Bundelkhand farmer union, who worked for the rights of farmers said, “In our region, there is a scarcity of water, we are continuously asking the Madhya Pradesh government to recognise it as a 'Drought region'." Farmers from South too participated in the protest.
Suresh Yam Patil, a farmer from North Karnataka bemoaned the delay in the construction of a water canal in his area. “The state government acquired the land from the farmers, but after three years, there was no help for the farmers from the canal,” he said. He added that wild animals such as elephants and bores destroy crops.
Farmers across the country join agitation
Many farmers from across the country such as the Bundelkhand region in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh also raised their concerns related to water scarcity and pending loans.