Farmers' Protest News Day 6: 4Th Round Of Talks With Centre Today BKU To Hold Dharnas In 4 States On Feb 21. 10 Points

(MENAFN- Live Mint) "Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai and farmer leaders from Punjab will meet today i.e. on 18 February for the fourth round of talks. The two sides met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15, but those talks remained inconclusive. The farmers from Punjab began their march to Delhi on 13 February but were stopped by security personnel at the Shambhu and Khanauri points of Punjab's border with Haryana. The protesters have stayed put at the two border points since then. Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, the farmers are demanding implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, and withdrawal of police cases, among others Read: Bharat Bandh: Delhi incurs loss of ₹300 crore so far, says traders' body as farmers' protests continueHere are 10 points to know1. A day ahead of the meeting i.e. on 17 February, farm leaders asked the Centre to bring an ordinance on giving a legal guarantee to MSP. Farm leader Sarwan Singh Pandher also said the entire country is looking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for addressing the farmers' demands and expressed hope that the farmers will get \"good news\" after the Sunday's meeting with the Centre.2. The Haryana government has extended the ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts by two more days till February 19 Read: Amid farmers' protest, THIS state announced hike in MSP on cow, buffalo milk3. Earlier on Saturday, The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) took out a tractor march in Haryana while BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) held dharnas outside residences of three senior BJP leaders in support of farmers protesting at the borders of Punjab over their various demands.4. The Gurnam Singh Charuni-led faction, which is based in Haryana, took out tractor marches at several places including Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar and Sirsa. Later, talking to the reporters, Charuni said they fully support the demands raised by the agitating farmers of Punjab Read: 63-year-old farmer dies of heart attack at Shambhu border5. The BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) held dharnas outside the residences of former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh in Patiala, BJP's Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar in Abohar and senior party leader Kewal Singh Dhillon in Barnala.6. The farmer body also held protests at 21 toll plazas in 13 districts in the state, extending support to the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' call. The BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) said that they will continue their protests on Sunday also.7. About 100 farmers from different associations were arrested at Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur Railway station as they tried to stage a 'rail roko' protest in front of the Cholan Express. The group was protesting the police action against the farmers' agitation in New Delhi. P R Pandian, Ayyakannu and Sundaravimalanathan, presidents of the various farmers associations, participated in the 'rail roko'.8. According to a trader at Ghazipur Mandi, the vegetable prices in Delhi could be headed for a rise as farmers' protests disrupt supply chains. As per news agency ANI report, a trader reported a ₹4 increase in carrot prices over the past 15 days due to supply issues from Punjab. He expressed concern that further disruptions caused by the ongoing protests could lead to price hikes for other vegetables as well.“The price of carrots has gone up by ₹4 in the last 15 days after supply from Punjab was disrupted following farmers' protest. This could lead to a rise in the price of vegetables. This issue between the farmers and the government should end soon,” a vegetable trader at Ghazipur mandi said as quoted by ANI.9. However, another trader at the market offered a more optimistic outlook and stated that there has been no immediate impact on vegetable prices so far. While speaking on the possible impact on prices of vegetables due to road blockages because of ongoing farmers' protests, another vegetable trader at Delhi's Ghazipur Mandi told ANI, \"There is no impact on the prices of vegetables currently. If protests continue and there are more road blockages, then the supply of vegetables from UP, Ganganagar, Pune, etc. may get affected leading to a possible hike in the price of some vegetables.\"10. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait has announced that farmers will stage dharnas in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand on February 21 to press their demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)

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