New Delhi: Thousands of farmers stayed put at their protest venues near Delhi’s border Friday. The farmers braved a severe chill as the mercury dipped to 1.1 degrees Celsius on the New Year’s Day. This is the lowest the mercury has dipped in the national capital in the last 15 years. However, in spite of the severe cold, the farmers stuck to their guns as talks with the government made little headway.
The government and the farm unions had reached some common ground Wednesday to resolve the farmers’ concerns over rise in power tariff and penalties for stubble burning. However, the two sides remained deadlocked over the main contentious issues of the repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee for MSP.
After the sixth round of negotiations between three Union Ministers and a 41-member representative group of farmers, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had said at least 50 per cent resolution has been reached with mutual agreement on two out of four items on the agenda and discussions would continue on the remaining two January 4.
Security remained tight at the national capital’s borders with hundreds of personnel deployed at Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri border points. The farmers at these places have been camping for more than a month now.
The protests have also led to traffic congestions, forcing the police to divert vehicular movement.
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Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Traffic Police alerted Friday commuters about the routes that remained closed owing to the agitation and suggested them to take alternative roads.
Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the central government as major reforms in the agriculture sector. The government has said that the new laws will remove the middleman and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in India.
However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of MSP and do away with the mandi system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.
The government has repeatedly asserted that the MSP and mandi systems will stay and has accused the Opposition of misleading the farmers.