West Bengal: Thousands of farmers march towards Hooghly from Singur

Thousands of farmers on Wednesday began a foot march programme organised by the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) from Singur in Hooghly district towards Kolkata, protesting the alleged agrarian crisis in the state. Around 10,000 farmers and agricultural workers of AIKS, the CPI(M) farmers' wing, kick-started the 'Singur to Raj Bhavan Abhijan', to highlight the "series of crisis" engulfing the sector in West Bengal.

State secretary of Kisan Sabha and senior CPI(M) leader Amal Haldar alleged that the TMC government has been neglecting agrarian issues, and without addressing the root cause of the problem, it is organising festivals across the state. "Our rally will be joined by 40,000 others from various parts of the state, who will also conduct rallies and campaigns on November 28 and 29 to draw attention to the serious problems faced by farming communities here," Haldar said. The campaign is part of the all India 'Kisan Mukti March'.

AIKS general secretary Hannan Mollah said the march has been organised to voice farmers' demands and proper implementation of the MNREGA scheme. Reacting to the AIKS programme, TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said the allegations against the state the government are completely baseless, as it has taken enough steps for the development of the farmer community of West Bengal.

(With inputs from agencies.)