NEW DELHI (AP) – Thousands of Indian farmers blocked a massive highway on the outskirts of New Delhi on Saturday to mark the 100th day of protests against agricultural laws that are said to destroy their incomes.
Farmers sat on tractors and waved colorful flags, while their leaders chanted slogans through a loudspeaker over an improvised scene.
Thousands of them have scattered outside New Delhi since late November to express their anger against the three laws passed by parliament last year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government says laws are needed to modernize agriculture, but farmers say they will leave them poorer at the mercy of large corporations.
Samyukta Kisan Morcha, or the Common Farmers Front, said the blockade would last five hours. “It is not our hobby to block the roads, but the government is not listening to us. What can we do? “Said Satnam Singh, a member of the group.
Farmers remained uneasy even after violence broke out on January 26 during clashes with police that left one protester dead and hundreds injured. But he could soon run into trouble.
For 100 days, Karnal Singh lived behind a trailer along a vast stretch of arterial highways linking northern India to New Delhi. He camped outside the capital, when he was under the control of winter and smog. Now the city is preparing for scorching summer temperatures that can reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).
But Singh, like many other farmers, is unhappy and intends to stay until the laws are completely repealed.
“We’re not going anywhere and we’re going to fight to the end,” Singh, 60, said Friday as he crossed his legs in a makeshift shelter behind his truck.
The mood on the Singhu border, one of the places of protest, was agitated on Friday, with many farmers settling in their long-term surroundings.
The huge kitchens that feed thousands every day were still in operation. Farmers crowded both sides of the highway and hundreds of trucks were turned into rooms equipped with water coolers in preparation for the summer. Electric fans and air conditioners are also installed in some trailers.
Farmers say the protests will spread across the country soon. However, the government hopes that many of them will return home with the start of India’s major harvest season at the end of the month.
Karanbir Singh dismissed such concerns. He said their community, including friends and neighbors back in the villages, would take care of farms while he and others continued the protests.
“We will help each other to make sure that no farm will be harvested,” Singh said.
But not all farmers are against the law. Pawan Kumar, a fruit and vegetable grower and ardent supporter of Modi, said he was ready to give them a chance.
“If they (the laws) turn out not to benefit us, then we will protest again,” he said. “We will block roads and make this protest even bigger. Then more ordinary people, even workers, will join. But if they prove to be beneficial for us, we will keep them. “
Several rounds of talks between the government and farmers failed to end the stalemate. Farmers have rejected an offer from the government to suspend the laws for 18 months, saying they want a complete repeal.
The legislation is unclear whether the government will continue to guarantee prices for certain essential crops – a system that was introduced in the 1960s to help India strengthen its food reserves and prevent shortages.
Farmers also fear that the legislation indicates that the government is moving away from a system in which an overwhelming majority of farmers sell only to government-sanctioned markets. They worry that they will be left at the mercy of corporations that will no longer have the legal obligation to pay the guaranteed price.
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Associathab Press journalist Rishabh R. Jain contributed to this report.