Rajasthan: Farmers call off protest in Jhalawar following assurance of meeting with CM

Kota (Rajasthan) Sep 10 (PTI) Hundreds of farmers, who were holding a sit-in for two days in Jhalawar district over various demands, including compensation for crop loss due to the recent floods in Rajasthan, have called off their protest after authorities assured them of a meeting with Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma this week, an official said on Wednesday.

The decision came after three rounds of talks between farmer leaders and administration officials late Tuesday night, Jhalawar District Collector Ajay Singh Rathore told reporters.

Thousands of farmers from around 1465 villages had assembled on the highway in front of Mini-Secretariat in Jhalawar on Monday under the banner of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh- Chittor Province for an indefinite protest, according to the organisers.

A delegation of the state government, headed by Kota divisional commissioner Peeyush Samariya, assured the farmer leaders of arranging their meeting with the state chief minister in Jaipur on September 13 or 14 to address their "state-level" issues, Rathore said.

The national president of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, K Sai Reddy, and other office bearers were part of the delegation of farmers.

"The demands of the protesting farmers are of three levels: Tehsil, district and state level. An agreement has been reached on the tehsil and district level demands after talks with the district administration," the official said.

The state-level demands will be deliberated in the meeting with the chief minister, the official said.

The Sangh leaders, however, asserted that the protest has only been postponed till the expected meeting with the chief minister. PTI COR APL APL RT RT RT RT