JOIN USOfficers promise to meet protesting farmers today
Bagair Hukum cultivation land should be legalised, the poor should be provided houses, bank loans should be given to farmers and coolie workers for construction of houses, demanded the protesters.
Three processions were previously led through Srinivaspur town, Velagalaburre in Kolar taluk and Shapoor on Wednesday. The procession begun at Srinivaspur was halted for the night at Muduvadi in Kolar taluk.
The Velagalaburre procession halted at Uppukunte Gate while the Shapur procession halted at Bhatrahalli.
Hundreds of farmers, participating in the processions, started from their respective venues at 8 am on Thursday. They came to the Travellers’ Bungalow in the city before moving to the Deputy Commissioner’s office.
Poor farmers find it virtually impossible to get loans. Getting houses too is difficult. Work on forming the committees for sanction of Bagair Hukum and distribution of land too has not been started, said the protesters.
They added that the current jatha was in the backdrop of lack of response from the local administration to repeated protests and struggles to fulfill the demands.
The District In-charge Minister, secretaries and concerned officers should visit the sites and solve the farmers’ problems. If not, the protest will only be intensified, the farmers warned.
Officers arrive
The Zilla Panchayat chief executive officer N Shantappa arrived outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office at around 5 pm to pacify the protesters. He was accompanied by the Additional Deputy Commissioner N Babanna and Lead Bank officers.
The officers spoke to the farmers for about half-an-hour. They sat down on the floor with the protesters and listened to their demands. They also put across the levels of possibility of fulfillment of the demands.
In response, however, the farmer leaders insisted that the protest would continue until they get an assurance of solution to the problems.
Meeting today
Shantappa told the protesters that a meeting would be organised on Friday evening. The farmers would get to meet gram panchayat development officers, presidents and chairpersons of various banks. The problems of the farmers would be discussed and decisions would be arrived at, he assured.
Raitha Sangha leaders G C Bayya Reddy, K P Suryanarayana, V Geetha, Gandhinagara Narayanaswamy, T M Venkatesh, Krishnegowda, Yallappa, Susheela led the procession.
Protest to continue
Although the officers met the farmers and assured of conducting a meeting to solve the farmers’ problems, the protesters said that they would not withdraw till Friday evening, when the meeting will be organised.
The protesting farmers would spend the night on spot, said the leaders.