Farmers end Bhopal siege (Night Lead)

BHOPAL - The farmers’ agitation in Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal ended Tuesday evening after the government issued written orders accepting their demands.

The agitation ended almost nine hours after farmer leaders announced that they would end the protest.

Hours after the state government accepted 50 of their 183 demands, farmer leader Shiv Kumar announced they would withdraw the agitation. But most of the farmers decided to stay put with their tractor-trolleys blocking Bhopal’s roads till the government issued written orders on their demands.

The protest began Sunday midnight and 45 hours later Tuesday when minister and spokesperson of government Narottam Mishra reached Priyadarshini Park where farmers where holding the protest and read out the 50 demands accepted by the government.

“The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government is serious on farmers’ issues and we have not only issued orders on your 50 demands but actions have also begun from tonight (Tuesday night) itself,” Mishra said.

“I also want to apologise for the misbehaviour of policemen towards the agitators. Action would be taken against those policemen who misbehaved with you,” he said.

Later, Bharti Kisan Sangh’s (BKS) state president Shiv Kumar said: “As the government has accepted all our major demands, we are ending our protest.”

He also apologied for the difficulties faced by residents of the state capital because of their agitation.

The farmers who came on more than 5,000 tractor-trolleys, blocked roads near the chief minister’s house here to press their demands, including for uninterrupted power supply to rural areas.

The number of farmers Tuesday went up to a few lakh from Monday’s around 20,000.

The BKS had given a 183-point charter of demands to the government under different heads, including proper power supply in rural pockets, remunerative value for their crops and good quality of fertilizers.