Chandigarh: Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, whose indefinite hunger strike over demands for tillers entered its 40th day on Saturday, said he is more worried about the lives of farmers than his own life.
“My life is not as important as the lives of lakhs of Indian farmers, who are reeling under distress. Already over 7 lakh farmers have committed suicide owing to the distress in the farming sector,” Dallewal said in his address at a mahapanchayat at Khanauri in Punjab, bordering Haryana.
The mahapanchayat was called in support of the farmer leader, who has been on a hunger strike amid deadlock over talks and in support of long-pending demands of the farmers, including the legal minimum support price (MSP) for crops, loan waivers, and reforms to improve conditions in the agricultural sector.
The farmers, under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri borders between Punjab and Haryana since February 13, 2024, in support of the demands.
Meanwhile, Punjab Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Saturday urged Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to break the impasse and revive the dialogue between the Centre and the agitating farmer unions at the earliest.
Chouhan was holding virtual discussions on reforms in the agriculture sector with Agriculture and Horticulture Ministers of states and UTs.
Khudian appealed to the Union Minister, noting that Dallewal’s fast-unto-death has taken a critical turn. “For 40 days, the latter has been sacrificing his health and wellbeing, and it is imperative that the Centre should take immediate action to address the grievances and save his life.”
The minister reiterated that the state government “supports the farmers’ legitimate demands and is enthusiastic about working together with the Union government to achieve a goal of prosperous agriculture”.
Raising another issue of great concern, he sought Rs 15,000 per acre for the farmers as gap funding for providing returns over the variable cost of alternative crops to wean them away from the water-guzzling paddy.
(IANS)
