Farmers Launch 10-day Long Nationwide Strike, To Observe Bharat Bandh On June 10

Thousands of farmers from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana on Friday started a 10-day nationwide strike demanding waiver of loans, right price for their crops and implementation of recommendations of Swaminathan Commission.

The protests were called to mark the first anniversary of the Mandsaur demonstration in Madhya Pradesh, in which six farmers were killed in police firing. The farmers have shut down the supply of milk, vegetables and essential farm produce due to which the vegetable prices in the market have gone up.

Speaking about the same, Shiv Kumar Sharma, president of Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Mahasangh, which is leading the protests, said, “More than 130 farmers organisations are with us. This has now become a nationwide agitation. We have named the protest ‘Gaon Band’. We won’t go to cities, as we don’t want to heckle the normal lives of the people.”