Day 2 of farmers' protest: No resolution after two rounds of farmers-admin talks in Rajasthan

Kota (Rajasthan) Sep 9 (PTI) Two rounds of talks between the district administration and farmers gathered on a highway in front of the Mini Secretariat of Jhalawar over various demands, including relief for the crop loss due to the recent floods in Rajasthan, failed to reach any agreement on Tuesday.

On the second day of the protest, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) national president K Sai Reddy led hundreds of farmers in Baran to the district collectorate to submit a memorandum on their 7-point demand, which included covering the losses under the PM crop insurance scheme.

The Jhalawar administration, however, expressed hope that another scheduled round of talks could resolve the matter before the end of the day.

The protest in Jhalawar has seen the participation of thousands of farmers, including women, who camped outside the Jhalawar collectorate all through Monday night. The farmers, who have come stocked with groceries, have been cooking food at the site and performing folk songs and dances.

Speaking to mediapersons in Baran, Reddy alleged that the state government was indifferent to the farmers' grievances, asserting that they would continue their 'Kisan Shakti Sangam Mahapadav' till their demands are met.

Heavy rains in the region have caused massive crop damage to farmers over lakhs of acres of land, but the government has not yet announced compensation and relief for them, Reddy said.

Farmers are also not getting any benefits under the PM crop insurance scheme and are facing a severe electricity crisis, he said.

The farmers have demanded a 12-hour electricity supply as they pay over Rs 1,000 for power.

Reddy said over 15,000 farmers have assembled in Jhalawar on Monday and they have urged the government to send a delegation to listen to their grievances and provide them relief.

Since they received no response from the government, the protest in Jhalawar has turned into an agitation and will continue until the government steps in with assurances to resolve the farmers' issues, he added.

Jhalawar Collector Ajay Singh Rathore said two rounds of negotiation have been completed with a farmers' delegation.

The 7-point demand by the protesting farmers includes reform in the PM crop insurance scheme to cover their losses, a 12-hour electricity supply for agriculture, shutting attempts to privatise thermal power units and Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, Rathore said.

They are also demanding that smart electricity metres be removed and that fertiliser purchase should not be attached to other products, the collector said.

None of the farmers' demands were related to the local administration, he added.

The Kota divisional commissioner is scheduled to hold talks with a farmers' delegation later, and the protest is likely to end after that, the DM said.

The talks between the government delegation, led by the Kota divisional commissioner, and the farmers' delegation are underway, and hopefully, the matter will be resolved on Tuesday, said Jhalawar SDM Abhishek Charan, who is part of the government delegation. PTI COR SKY SKY