Farmers' Sit-In Protest In Mathura Enters 3rd Day

A sit-in demonstration by hundreds of farmers in Naujhil town in Mathura to attract the government's attention to a slew of issues ranging from the non-payment of their dues under PM-KISAN scheme to the damage of their corps by stray cattle entered third day on Wednesday.

"The host of issues bothering us also included a steep hike in power tariff coupled with a drastic cut on the number of hours of the electricity supply in villages," said Bhartiya Kisan Kalyan Samiti chief Ram Babu Katelia, leading the sit-in demonstration.

The dharna began on Monday when the farmers, who had gathered for a panchayat organised to discuss their troubles and find ways to tackle them, decided to convert the meeting into an indefinite sit-in demonstration, he said.

Unless Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visits us and devices ways to tackle our problems, we will continue the agitation, he added. Talking of their trial and tribulations affecting their farming, the peasants said the problems of stray cattle too was proving to be a great menace for their corps.

"Then the government had promised to make an annual payment of Rs 6,000 to us in three instalments under PM-KISAN yojana, but hardly any one of us has got any payment on that count, with no one in the government offices ready to listen to us who to approach for the payments," said another farmer. About the steep hike in power tariff and drastic reduction in the number of hours of power supply, the less said is better, he added.

With the farmers continuing their agitation braving the winter chill, local Samajwadi Party leader Sanjay Lathar reached the farmers sit-in venue at Naujhil and extended his party's support to them. The SP leader also promised that he would get their issues raised in the state assembly.