Farmers seeking MSP for sunflower seeds blocks key national highway in Pipli in Haryana, traffic diverted

Farmers on Monday blocked a key national highway in Pipli in Haryana's Kurukshetra district after holding a mahapanchayat to press their demand for minimum support price for sunflower seeds.

As the blockade of the highway connecting Delhi with Chandigarh, Amritsar and Jammu continued till late night, police had to divert traffic.

The ''MSP Dilao, Kisan Bachao Mahapanchayat'', called by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni), was held at a grain market in Pipli close to the National Highway-44.

Subsequently, they blocked the highway and parked their tractors on it.

The district administration and the police were making efforts to persuade the protesting farmers to lift the blockade, which continued till late night and caused inconvenience to commuters.

Apart from MSP for sunflower seeds, the protesting farmers are demanding the release of nine farmer union leaders who were arrested during a protest at Shahabad here recently.

They said the blockade will continue until their demands are met.

Leaders of various khaps, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait and Olympic medal-winning wrestler Bajrang Punia, one of the grapplers who have been demanding action against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for alleged sexual harassment of women grapplers, attended the mahapanchayat in Pipli.

Tikait also sat with the protesting farmers on the national highway. The highway blockade began around 2:30 pm.

Farmers from Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan too attended the gathering.

At the mahapanchayat, farmer leader Karam Singh Mathana said the local administration had assured them of a meeting with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to discuss their demands. ''But now they say the chief minister has left Karnal. Because of this, the local committee, which organised the mahapanchayat, decided to block the National Highway-44 till our demands are met,'' Mathana said. Superintendent of Police of Kurukshetra S S Bhoria said Monday evening that the traffic on the national highway has been diverted and roads to Kurukshetra town are opened at Umri Chowk.

The traffic from Chandigarh towards Delhi had also been diverted, police said.

Bhoria said they are holding talks with the protesters to find an amicable solution to their issues.

Kurukshetra Deputy Commissioner Shantanu Sharma said late night that the farmers were still sitting on the highway. ''They are occupying both carriageways. We have been requesting them to initiate a dialogue, but they want their demands to be met first,'' he said.

Officials said the farmers were occupying a 500-metre stretch on the highway. They said, going by the present situation, the blockade may continue through the night.

They said that prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 are in place in the area and the protesters are sitting on the highway in violation of that.

Earlier in the day, Sharma told PTI that the district administration has been holding talks with BKU leaders since Sunday to resolve the issue of procuring sunflower seeds on MSP.

''Even today we asked them to give us some time so that we can arrange a meeting with the chief minister. But the BKU leaders preferred to block the highway,'' he said.

On June 6, farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni blocked National Highway-44 near Shahabad here demanding that the government procure sunflower seeds at minimum support price. Police used water cannons and resorted to lathicharge to disperse the protesters.

Later, nine BKU (Charuni) leaders, including its president, were arrested over various charges, including rioting and unlawful assembly.

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, who attended the mahapanchayat on Monday, said the government should procure sunflower on MSP and the farmer leaders arrested in Shahabad should be released.

Addressing the mahapanchayat, Tikait announced that the Samyukta Kisan Morcha would start a pan-India agitation if a law for MSP, ''as promised by the Union government'', is not brought.

He said though various farmers' organizations attended the Pipli mahapanchayat under their own banners, they were all united in their fight for the farmers' cause.

He said the issue of MSP for sunflower not only affects farmers in Haryana but those sowing various crops across the country as they have to make distress sale in the absence of an MSP law.

Free ''langar'' is being served to the protesters by many farmers' organisations, including those from Punjab.

Sukhvinder Singh, a farmer from Hisar, said that they have brought farmers in 100 vehicles to participate in the protest and they are ready to stay put here till their demands are met.

Another farmer, Bhupinder Singh from Ambala, said that the Haryana government has ''underestimated the strength of farmers by arresting our leaders, including Gurnam Singh Charuni, and putting them in jail hoping that our agitation would fizzle out, but they are wrong, and farmers are not going to lift their dharna from the national highway till their demands are met''.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had on Saturday released Rs 29.13 crore as interim compensation to 8,528 farmers for sunflowers grown on 36,414 acres. The farmers are demanding that the state government procure sunflowers at an MSP of Rs 6,400 per quintal.

Under the Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana -- price difference payment scheme -- the state government is giving Rs 1,000 per quintal as interim support for sunflower crop sold below MSP.