MP: Bharat Bandh affects Mandis in Indore district

Agriculture markers in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district were partially affected by the 'Gramin Bharat Bandh' called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Friday.

The call for the shut-down had a slight impact on the arrival of farm produce in Mandis but normal life was not affected otherwise, local sources said.

Members of the SKM and some other farmers' organisations staged a demonstration outside the divisional commissioner's office here.

The SKM had called for the Bandh to press the Union government to accept various demands including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

The protesters here submitted a memorandum addressed to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, demanding immediate enactment of a law guaranteeing MSP, compensation at four times the existing rates for acquisition of agricultural land, and annual pension of Rs 10,000 for farmers.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-backed Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) did not support the bandh.

''We want farmers' issues to be resolved peacefully and not through violent means,'' BKS state president Kamal Singh Anjana told reporters.