Kawardha in Chhattisgarh was hit by a protest by a large chunk of farmers which blocked the Raipur-Jabalpur National Highway and major roads to demand 23 points. Farmers, accompanied by farmers’ tractors, arrived in Kabirdham district creating a road blockade and blocked traffic across the city.
The protest was ongoing on Thursday, when farmers refused to lift as long as the government and state administration did not take the farmers’ demands seriously. The movement of traffic was heavily disrupted by the blockages on some main roads. Accounting for the chaos, the emergency services reportedly were let through, and schools were declared holidays during the period of chaos.
The Chhattisgarh administration has been keeping track of the situation and Thursday a group of officials went to the protest site, discussing matters with the farmers. But there was no progress in the discussions. Police are heavily policing the area to control the situation.
Farmers’ prime demands include raising sugarcane production at Irso Sapta Sugar Factory and Sutiyapat Sugar Factory in the district, hiking up the sugarcane bonus to ₹150 per quintal, expanding Sutiyapat reservoir, and reducing electricity bills, among others, as well as settling pending paddy bonus claims worth a crores of rupees due under the previous government.
The protesters also have raised a few more issues, bringing the number of their demands to 23. They have threatened that the protest will not end until there is action.
All five major gates of Kawardha, namely, traffic in Raipur-Jabalpur, Kawardha-Rajnandgaon and Bilaspur-Kawardha have been reported to be prone to traffic congestion.
About a week’s ration in kind, the farmers have brought with them for such a sit-in as is their lot. Cooking food by the roadside could be seen by some as they indicated their presence at the protest site.
Everyday commuters, school kids and other citizens have been impacted by the block. Now the challenge for the administration is to resolve the issue without disrupting traffic flow or causing further hassles for the public.