In Pics | Madhya Pradesh on the boil as farmers continue to agitate
Continuing on the warpath, farmers resorted to violence and arson in western MP despite prohibitory measures, posing a major challenge for CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and providing a rallying point for the opposition parties.
Continuing on the warpath, farmers resorted to violence and arson in western Madhya Pradesh despite prohibitory measures, posing a major challenge for Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and providing a rallying point for the opposition parties.
In view of the volatile situation, the Centre rushed 1,100 personnel of anti-riot Rapid Action Force (RAF) to the violence-hit state where the farmers have been agitating since the last seven days for loan waiver and better crop prices.
A day after five farmers were killed and six injured in clashes between the protesters and the police in Mandsaur, a clearly rattled Chouhan government sought to cool the tempers by announcing certain measures, including a loan settlement scheme for those cultivators who had defaulted on repayment of farm loan borrowed by them earlier.
The scheme will cover around six lakh farmers, with accumulated dues of Rs 6000 crore, according to government.
The government also announced setting up of a commission for agricultural costs and marketing to ensure that farmers get benefited by market price for their produce.