Indian Farmers Block Roads and Trains
Indian farmers protesting, Dec. 30. 2024. X/ @arthparkash1
December 30, 2024 Hour: 1:43 pm
These actions are part of a strike demanding better conditions for farmers and a minimum price for their crops.
On Monday, thousands of farmers forced the cancellation of 163 trains and blocked dozens of roads in the state of Punjab, in northwestern India.
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These actions are part of a strike demanding better conditions for farmers and a minimum price for their crops. Farmers in Punjab began the blockades at 7:00 AM local time across twenty districts simultaneously and plan to continue their protests until 4:00 PM local time.
During this period, farmers blocked major train routes and highways, resulting in the cancellation of trains and buses. The protest was also accompanied by a call for a strike that led to the closure of businesses and factories across Punjab in solidarity with the farmers.
The demonstrators are demanding that the central government meet over a dozen demands. These include legal guarantees to set a minimum price for their crops, pensions for farmers, and the dropping of charges against several of its members for the 2021 protests.
This initiative also comes a day before the deadline set by the Supreme Court of India for the Punjab government to persuade a farmer leader, who has been on a hunger strike for 35 days, to be transferred to a hospital.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal began his indefinite fast in November and, despite his fragile health, refuses to see doctors. Instead, he insists that the government fulfill the farmers’ demands to end the hunger strike.
Over the last month, India has witnessed several agricultural protests. In November, farmers began a demonstration around New Delhi aiming to reach Parliament, a move ultimately blocked by the police.
Agricultural workers, the largest workforce in the country, are fueled by the success of a massive protest movement between 2020 and 2021 that led to the repeal of three neoliberal laws proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These laws aimed to withdraw state regulation of agricultural markets, allowing product prices to fluctuate according to “market forces.”
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
