Farmers end protest after visit to Kisan Ghat

After a day-long stand-off with the police, thousands of farmers on Wednesday ended their protest for better prices for farm produce with a visit to Kisan Ghat in the early hours of the day.

The protesting farmers were allowed to enter Delhi and proceed towards Kisan Ghat, the memorial to former prime minister late Chaudhary Charan Singh, just after midnight.

"We will continue to demand our rights, but for now we are ending the march," said Naresh Tikait, president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union.

The barricades at the UP-Delhi border near the townships of Kaushambi and Vaishali were lifted at 1 am on Wednesday following which the farmers proceeded to Kisan Ghat to mark the end of their Kisan Kranti Yatra that had begun on September 23 at Haridwar.

The BKU leaders held a meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh on their 15-point charter that included better MSP for the rabi crop.

The Union Cabinet is expected to consider the minimum support price for the Rabi season on Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, Reuters quoted government officials in a report which said that cabinet is set to raise the MSP for wheat by 6% on Wednesday to 1,840 rupees ($25.17) per 100 kg.

The farmers began dispersing for their villages before sunrise prompting police to clear the barricades they had put up at the border.

“After several rounds of meetings, Kisan Yatra agitation ended yesterday (Tuesday) night and all have moved back to their destinations. Traffic movement should normalise today (Wednesday),” Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ritu Maheshwari said.

At the meeting with farmers’ leaders, the government agreed to meet seven demands, including better support prices, seeking a review of the NGT ban on 10-year-old diesel vehicles, and review of the crop insurance scheme.