Himacal Kisan Sabha to support protest call of Sanyukt Kisan Manch 

Himachal Pradesh Kisan Sabha has urged the farmers and four lane affected people to jon hand with the Sanyukta Kisan Munch which have given call to cordon state secretariat on 20 points demand character and levying of 18 per cent GST on the fruit packaging material by the government. In a press statement issued here today the HKS state president Dr Kuldeep Singh Tanwar said that all farmers who are engaged in off seasonal vegetables and flower cultivation would attend August 5 SKM protest to gahero the state secretariat. He said that HKS held a state conference at Solan on July 27 and 28 and decided to support the apple growers who are protesting against the hike in GST and withdrawing the subsidies on pesticides by the Jai Ram Thakur and Narendra Modi Government. The farmers belonged to ever cross sections including the Tomato growers, flower growers, four lane affected and other farmers organization which are displaced by the hydro and national highway projects are among the 27 umbrella farmers unions who are given the call of protest on August 5 at Shimla. Farmers are united as they are facing distress and onslaught of the corporate houses with the convenience of the ruling parties. Dr Tanwar said that small and marginal farmers belonging to apple industries, animal husbandry  and flower and off  seasonal vegetable productions are under the worst agarin crisis and time is coming when the debt ridden farmers have no option but to commit suicide . He said that farmers after facing the agriculture and horticulture slumps during Covid could not deposit their loan installments. Kisan Sabha is going to raise the issue of loan waiver to farmers soon as many of them are in distress owing to mounting heavy debt in the banks due to Kissan Credit cards and other loans. The farmers are facing frequent failure of crops as Tomato and Garlic growers are almost facing four consecutive losses of their crops coming under the burden. He said that flower growers are also rendered heavy losses due to spoiling of their flower products during the Covid lock down. He said that farmers were fighting for Minimum support prices to all  the crops and the demand charters of SKM also endorsed their demands. Kisan Sabha are supporting the cause of apple and pears growers as it affects the livelihood of two lakh households directly and nine lakh indirectly in the 27 assembly segments. The farmers after successful protests on August 5 would submit a memorandum to the State Government to endorse their demand of rolling back of subsidy and starting of MIS schemes on Apple and other fruits on the analogy of Jammu and Kashmir where farmers  are selling their crops on the quality of fruits under three categories . A resolution was passed in the Kisan sabha state conference about  the above issues including the joint fight for the cause of unseasonal vegetable and food grain producers to fight unitedly. Dr Tanwar said that number of farmers of Theog and Kasumpti Assembly segments gave 35 hours long Dharna outside the Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam limited office at Shimla recently as they were deprived of the potable waters being drawn from their lands to Shimla town. He said that farmers would fight for the cause of water, land and environment and livelihood tooth and nail. The agitation of Sanyukat Kisan Morcha outside the Delhi borders against the three farms law taught them a lesson that they could not fight against the nexus of corporate and ruling government without being united. The protests and the political lines are the only alternative that they could survive themselves and continue to save their land holdings are arable lands in time of high inflation and unemployment. Dr Tanwar said that Kanwar Singh, a member of Kisan Sabha was shocked to see the markets of apple. Apple cart vendor is selling the apple fruit at the rate of Rs 350 per kg which is bought by him from commission agents at the rate of Rs 25 to 35 per kg .  The margin of profits and the prices of crops are neither in favour of consumers nor farmers who could not manage their cst of production; however the middleman is earning profit or margin hundreds of times of the same crop, Dr Tanwar said added that Union Government  did not come out with new MSP law which it had promised a year ago to resolve the issue of three farms law.