The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) staged a dharna at the SDM office in Siwani town of Bhiwani district on Thursday demanding that the Siwani tehsil be declared drought-hit and farmers be provided compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre for crop losses.

They staged a protest demonstration outside the SDM office and later submitted a memorandum of their demands to the local officials.

Addressing the protesters, farmer leaders said kharif crops in Siwani tehsil had been severely damaged due to inadequate rainfall during the monsoon. They said the shortage had also triggered a serious crisis of fodder, with farmers being forced to purchase it at around Rs 1,000 per quintal.

The speakers accused the state government of being anti-farmer and anti-labour class and alleged that government’s policies had pushed farmers deeper into debt. They also said irrigation canals in the tehsil had remained without water for the past six months, adding that even drinking water was not being supplied through the canal system.

With the sowing of the rabi crop due to begin in October, the farmers said they were also facing a shortage of DAP fertiliser. They alleged that adequate supplies had not reached even as the start of rabi season is about one month away.

The Kisan Sabha warned that if crop loss assessment, or girdawari, was not conducted by September 13, the farmers would gather at the Siwani SDM office on September 14 and launch an indefinite protest. The protesters submitted a memorandum to the Agriculture Department's SDO and the office kanungo as the SDM was not available in office.

An official of the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare department assured the farmers that during crop-cutting exercises for crop insurance, announcements would be made in the villages and farmers present at the spot would be provided receipts. The office kanungo also assured them that crop damage would be recorded during the routine girdawari.

Kisan Sabha leaders Dayanand Poonia, Umrao Singh, Antar Kaswan, Sukaram Jaglan, Ramchander Fauji, Rajbir Sihag, Suresh Saini besides several farmers were also present in the protest demonstration.

Source - https://www.tribuneindia.com