Members of Confederation of Bahadurgarh Industries urge farmers not to hold protest in industrial hub

Feb 13, 2024

Bahadurgarh (Haryana) [India], February 13 : Members of the Confederation of Bahadurgarh Industries, District Jhajjhar on Tuesday urged farmers not to hold their protest in industrial hub to ensure minimum impact on their business.
Pravin Garg, President of Confederation of Bahadurgarh industries told ANI that they are not against the farmers, but they should not disturb the business industries.
"Covid started from 2020 and during it the farmer's movement started which lasted for approximately 378 days. Bahadurgarh has maximum industries where lakhs of employees work. We are not against the farmers, but they should not disturb our businesses industries. This is our request to them. For the past two days Internet is shut, due to which mandatory e-invoicing/e-way billing has not been possible; transportation of materials is not being possible through state borders," he said.
"There is panic among people here. Approximately, Rs 50,000 crore worth manufacturing happens annually in our district only - revenues, employment etc associated with it. There is direct loss to the industries," he added.
Meanwhile, the Haryana police detained several protesting farmers as they marched towards Delhi on Tuesday. The protesting farmers were seen attempting to break the multi-layered barricades using their tractors and hand weapons.
Scenes of chaos filled the Shambhu border as the police tried to stop the protestors from entering the national capital. Visuals from the border showed farmers running towards nearby farmland on the sides of the road as police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protestors.
Concrete slabs, iron nails, barricades, barbed wires, police and paramilitary personnel were deployed by the police at several parts of the border. The farmers have put forth 12 demands before the central government for which they're marching to Delhi.
According to the protesting farmers, the Centre promised them better crop prices after which they ended the 2021 protest. They are demanding to enact a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission report.
They are also demanding a complete debt waiver and a scheme to provide pensions to farmers and farm labourers.
The farmers have also urged to scrap the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 and are demanding to reintroduce the Land Acquisition Act of 2013, ensuring consent from farmers and compensation at 4 times the collector rate.
An appeal to provide 200 days of employment per year and a daily wage of Rs 700 under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) linking it with farming has also been made by the farmers.
Also, they have demanded compensation to the families of farmers who died during the protests in 2021 and a job for any family member has been put in place.