Farmers To Protest Against Fuel Price Hike, Large Contingents Arrive At Protest Sites

Large contingents of farmers have started arriving at protest sites in preparation for their agitation on July 8 against fuel price hike, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) said on July 7. The protesters will reach designated public locations with any means of transport including scooters, motorcycles, tractors, cars, buses, trucks & also with empty gas cylinders, it said. On July 7, the petrol prices in Delhi as well as Kolkata crossed the Rs 100 a litre mark. SKM has demanded that the fuel prices be halved with immediate effect. It has also appealed to the protesters to keep the demonstration peaceful and on the roadside, without blocking any pathways. SKM has also planned fresh rounds of protests during the monsoon session of the parliament scheduled later this month. Around 200 protesters will agitate everyday outside the Parliament building reiterating their demands of repealing the three farm laws and a legal guarantee for Minimum Support price (MSP). Over the last seven months, thousands of farmers from different parts of the country have been protesting at Delhi borders against the new farm laws. Farmers claim the new farm laws will do away with the MSP system & leave them at the mercy of big corporations. The Modi government, however, has been protecting the laws as major agricultural reforms.