(Image source from: The Financial Express)
Thousands of farmers across eight Indian states began their 10-day protest last Friday to press demands such as farm loan waivers and higher prices for the produce of cereals, oilseeds, and milk. The protests are largely happening in the states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Millions of India's small-scale farmers have been squeezed by decreasing monetary value for their crops and the growth of transit and storage costs.
"A 25-kilogram crate of tomatoes is selling for about 60 rupees (€0.76, $0.89) in the wholesale market. Prices have hit rock bottom and we are struggling with these low prices," said Manish Bhanej, a small-scale farmer who dumped his entire stock of 1,000 crates of tomatoes in a rage.
The protests have been peaceful so far, though organizers are planning to increase the intensity in coming days.
The farmers have as well-circumscribed vegetable and milk provision to the city markets causing prices to leap in few spots. Recently farmers obstructed highways and poured milk onto roads in some places. In Meerut, potato farmers dumped their produce on roads and highways in rage against falling prices.
"This year, I produced 200 sacks. Out of it, 100 were sold in the market while the other half I dumped in a cold storage," Kulbir Yadav, a farmer said, pointing out that it was becoming increasingly difficult to sustain their livelihood under these circumstances.
"Farmers are in debt today because of the lopsided policies of the government. After we pay respect to the farmers who died last year in Mandsaur, we could resort to holding up public transport if the government does not pay heed to our demands," Sandeep Gidde Patil, a senior member of the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh (RKM), the farmer organization that is spearheading the current protests, told a media source. Mandsaur in the central Madhya Pradesh state was the place where six farmers were killed by police during protests last year.
The president of Congress party Rahul Gandhi met kins of the farmers killed in Mandasaur and addressed a rally.
"Narendra Modi has betrayed farmers. He promised to get them the right price for the produce. The truth is PM Modi and BJP are not concerned about farmers. Helping their rich businessmen friends is their only priority," Gandhi told farmers on Wednesday.
The Flare-up of rural discontent poses a challenge to PM Modi, who assured to double incomes of farmers in five years when he came to power in 2014.
By Sowmya Sangam
