Bhubaneswar: Hundreds of farmers defied Section 144 and broke through the police cordon in Tamando to enter the city to join the massive Jan Satyagraha Padyatra, Monday.
Thousands of farmers marching towards the city from both sides seemed unconcerned about the attempts of the police to prevent the protesters from entering the city.
The farmers continued to march on to the site of the convention organised with the support of the Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan (NNKS). Hundreds of farmers were detained by the police.
The protesters strongly condemned the apathy of the state government when it comes to basic rights of farmers – price, prestige and pension (3Ps).
The farmers demanded allocation of `26,600 crore in the coming budget to pay a pension of `5,000 a month to all the poor farmers. NNKS convener Akshay Kumar threatened that if the government ignores their demands they would create a situation in the state which would force the Centre to impose President’s rule.
“This government’s attempt to block our rally was undemocratic. As far as formation of the inter-ministerial committee is concerned, it is nothing but a publicity stunt. The government has always been cheating us, and even the press release issued by the committee doesn’t mention anything about pension for farmers or any of our demands. If farmers are barred from entering Bhubaneswar, politicians will not be allowed to enter our villages. The government will see the impact of what it did in the city Monday in the coming elections,” he said.
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