Farmers to gherao Odisha Assembly on March 21

Bhubaneswar: Protesting State government's callousness towards their demands, hundreds of farmers sitting on dharna at the Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar have decided to gherao the Odisha Assembly on March 21.

The farmers under the aegis of Navnirman Krushak Sangathan (NKS) have been staging Satyagraha since March 12 demanding Rs 21,600 crore allocation in the budget for nearly 36 lakh farmers.

"Every day hundreds of farmers are joining the protest and dozens are falling sick. Till now there has been no acknowledgment from the government," NKS Convenor Akshay Kumar said.

The NKS has sent an open letter to the chief minister today in which they have highlighted all their demands.

“We just want Rs 5,000 per month for each farmer which comes to around Rs 21,600 crore annually for nearly 36 lakh farmers of the state. If government employees which are only 1 percent of the population, take Rs 40,000 crore salary; then why 70 per cent of the population who are farmers are will not be allocated 5 per cent of the budget,” he said.

Meanwhile, the government is yet to comment on the matter.