Bhopal’s seige by protesting farmers swells

BHOPAL - Thousands of protesting farmers continued their siege of the Madhya Pradesh capital for the second day Tuesday, blocking all roads leading to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s house here to press their demands, including uninterrupted power supply to rural areas.

The number of farmers under the banner of Bharti Kisan Sangh (BKS) Tuesday went up to a few lakh from Monday’s around 20,000.

The BKS had given an 183-point demand to the government under different heads, including proper power supply in rural pockets, good value for their crops and good quality of fertilizers.

All the roads leading to the chief minister’s house are blocked. The farmers who have arrived in more than 5,000 tractor-trolleys have not only been using the vehicles to sleep on under the open sky but placed these in such a way that roads have got completely blocked.

However, the main sufferer in this protest are the common people of the state capital who have been facing problems in reaching offices and their destinations.

“This is ridiculous, we have never seen such a hostage-like condition in the city. Where is the administration or government? This is the second day, my wife has to face difficulties in bringing our daughter from school. They have to walk three kilometres,” said Javed Qutubi, a resident of Professors Colony.

Government officials said they have started talks with leaders of farmers but with no results as yet.