Vijayawada: Only a few farmers took out tractor rallies here as part of the farmers’ nationwide ‘chakka jam’ of national highways, as they were preoccupied with preparations for the ensuing gram panchayat polls and the fight against the privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
The YSR Congress, Telugu Desam and the Jana Sena have extended support to the new farm laws and have sought a few changes. Mo rallies were with the participation of a large number of farmers along with their tractors in any part in the state.
However, farmers are demanding statutory provision for the minimum support price (MSP) for all crops and an enforcing mechanism for proper implementation of the MSP. They maintain that though the Centre fixed the MSP for a quintal of maize at Rs 1,850, it is being sold for Rs 1,350 in Bihar. The farmers point out that lack of a protective mechanism for MSP had resulted in this situation, causing income loss to the farmers.
They appealed to the Centre to fix MSP based on ground realities so that the farmers will benefit during the sale of their produce, and the government need not incur huge expenditure to procure such produce at higher MSP.
The farmers are also demanding representation on the committees so that they will be having their say in case of any injustice meted out to them with regard to price or other issues, and can also move the appropriate court for justice.
YSR Congress farmers’ wing organising general secretary K. Trinatha Reddy said, “We are against certain provisions in the new farm laws and we want the MSP to get statutory provision so that it will safeguard the interests of farmers. We also want representation for farmers in committees as such provision is denied to them at present.”
On the other hand, as the farmers in villages are getting ready to take part in the gram panchayat poll campaign, only a few of them took out rallies to extend their solidarity with the nation-wide stir. The rallies had the support of the Left parties and farmers’ unions.
Police said no major untoward incident was reported from any part in the state.
A round table conference was held in the city under the aegis of AITUC Rashtra Samiti underlining the need to protect the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant from getting privatised. CPI state secretary K. Ramakrishna slammed the Centre for going on a spree of divestment from public sector companies when the country was facing hardships due to Covid-19 and called for all efforts to oppose privatisation of the plant in the steel city.
