‘Kisan Mukti Yatra’ begins in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal, July 6 (IANS) To pay a tribute to the six protesting farmers killed in police firing in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district, the 'Kisan Mukti Yatra' began on Thursday under the leadership of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee.

Representatives of more than 100 groups of farmers from all over the country reached Mandsaur, demanding loan waivers and fixing the maximum support price of the crop yield based on recommendations by the M.S. Swaminathan Committee.

AIKSC state chief Jaswinder Singh said that convenor of Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan V.M. Singh, Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha General Secretary Hannan Mollah, CPI-M leader Subhashini Ali, Swaraj India's Yogendra Yadav, activists, farmers, women, etc. are participating in the Yatra.

"All of them have lifted ploughs on their shoulder while the farmers are waiving green flags," Singh said.

"From Madhya Pradesh, this Yatra will go through Maharashtra and Gujarat to reach New Delhi on July 18, where a tribute will be paid to the six farmers killed in Mandsaur," he added.

Tight security arrangements have been devised for the Yatra with police forces being deployed at many places.

Farmers' protests that started in the state on June 1, demanding better prices for their produce and debt relief, turned violent on June 6 when five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur.