Farmers’ shutdown hits life in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR - Normal life was affected in Chhattisgarh Wednesday as farmers blocked roads and highways during a day-long shutdown called to force the government to hike the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy.

Reports from all 18 districts in the state said the normal life was hit as buses were off the roads and schools, cinema halls and petrol pumps were shut.

Markets in state capital Raipur and major towns like Bilapur, Jagdalpur, Korba and Raigarh were also closed.

Protesters and police clashed at several places when the farmers tried to enforce strike and raised slogans against the state government. Officials at the police headquarters here said that about 200 protesters were arrested in Raipur and Bilaspur.

The Sanjukat Kisan Morcha, an umbrella organisation of farmers’ bodies that called the strike, said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had failed to implement its pre-election promise of last year to provide a bonus of Rs.270 a quintal to farmers while buying paddy and give free electricity for irrigation pumps.

The government has been buying paddy at 1,577 centres across the state from nearly one million farmers since Oct 12 at Rs.950 a quintal for common grade paddy and Rs.980 for grade-A quality paddy.

But the farmers are demanding at least Rs.270 per quintal as bonus.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Raman Singh wrote to the central government demanding a steep hike in the MSP for paddy.

“The MSP for paddy for the current fiscal should be increased to Rs.1,400 per quintal from the current Rs.950 for common grade paddy while that for grade-A variety should be raised to Rs.1,430 per quintal from Rs.980,” he said in his letter to union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.