The Centre deployed two more companies (200 personnel) of central forces on Friday to control the situation, taking the total count to 13 companies in western MP.
Parts of Madhya Pradesh remained tense on Friday as farmer protests seeking debt relief and hike in crop prices spread across the state, and other parts of the country, after a protester injured earlier in a clash with police died, taking the toll to six. The victim died in Daloda village in Mandsaur, the worst-hit district in the ongoing agitation.
While curfew-bound Mandsaur district was relatively peaceful, incidents of arson and stone pelting were reported from Shajapur and Dhar districts in the western part of Madhya Pradesh as protests spilled over to new places on the eighth day of the farmers' stir.
The Centre deployed two more companies (200 personnel) of central forces on Friday to control the situation, taking the total count to 13 companies in western MP. Mandsaur remained relatively calm on Friday as the district administration sealed all entry and exit points and relaxed curfew from 9 am to 6 pm.
In its update to the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday, the state government said a high alert warning has been issued in Sagar, Rewa and Satna divisions.
The government also apprised the Centre about the possibility of violence during the Rail Roko call by the farmers.
Close on the heels of protests by farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, a group of cultivators led by P Ayyakannu, who had spearheaded a 40-day stir in New Delhi, on Friday launched an "indefinite" protest here pressing for their demands including a comprehensive drought relief package.
They began the protest by paying homage to farmers killed in police firing in Madhya Pradesh. Raising slogans seeking justice for farmers, Ayyakkanu said they faced a slew of problems and urged the government to look into their demands.
Hoping to calm the situation, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Centre is working to improve farmers' financial condition and double their income by 2022.
Addressing a meeting in Dudu town in Jaipur, he said the Modi government is now working to further enhance and improve the situation of farmers, he said.
This apart, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday appointed a high power committee comprising six ministers to hold talks with agitating farmers, political parties and experts in the field of agriculture to finalise the draft for loan waiver.
Senior minister Chandrakant Patil, who will head the committee, said he was ready to reach out to farmer leaders across the state by taking stock of the ground reality. After the report is submitted to CM Fadnavis, the draft for loan waiver will pass through a constitutional process. After the Maharashtra cabinet's approval, the state government will implement the loan waiver package.
Patil said the waiver, as promised by the CM, will be announced on October 31.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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