Farmers to continue Bhopal siege, despite agreement (Third Lead)

BHOPAL - The farmers’ agitation in the Madhya Pradesh capital took a new turn Tuesday evening with most of protesters openly defying their leader and deciding to continue with their siege until they get written orders from the government agreeing to their demands.

Hours after the state government accepted 50 of their 183 demands and farmer leader Shiv Kumar said they would withdraw the agitation, most of the farmers decided to stay put with their tractor-trolleys blocking Bhopal’s roads till the government issues written orders on their demands.

The mass protest is set to enter the third day.

“Whether it takes two or three days to issue written orders, we will continue our protest. Now it will not work to make promises only,” Bharti Kisan Sangh spokesperson Sandeep Srivastava told reporters in the evening.

The farmers who came on more than 5,000 tractor-trolleys, blocked roads near Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s house here to press their demands, including for uninterrupted power supply to rural areas.

The number of farmers Tuesday went up to a few lakh from Monday’s around 20,000.

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

Earlier, after talks between state minister and spokesperson Narottam Mishra and a group of agitating farmers at Ballabh Bhavan, BKS leader Shiv Kumar said the farmers would withdraw the agitation.

Mishra announced that a government order accepting the demands would be issued soon.