Other States - Rajasthan   

Kisan Rath to roll down from Raola today

Special Correspondent

Photo: Gopal Sunger

Kisan Chetna Rath all set for journey.

JAIPUR: A unique "Kisan Rath" is all set to roll down from Raola in Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan on Monday as part of a State-wide Kisan Chetana Yatra (farmers' march) that will culminate in Jaipur on February 22 to register protest against the State Government's feudal and anti-farmer policies.

The fortnight-long yatra is being organised by the State Committee of Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha. The chariot was put on display at the State headquarters of Communist Party of India (Marxist) here on Sunday before its journey to Raola for being flagged off at a monument erected in memory of victims of the 2004 police firing.

Kisan Sabha's general secretary Duli Chand said here that the commencement of yatra from Raola would send across a "stern message" to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party that farmers were willing to sacrifice their lives in the struggle against its "feudal, anti-poor and perverse policies".

The Kisan Rath - the first-ever chariot espousing the cause of farmers in the State - is a modified version of a carriage, the work on which was started two years ago at the instance of late CPI(M) leader Shyopat Singh. The chariot has modest facilities of relaxation for travellers and is fitted with public address system. Hundreds of public meetings are proposed to be organised en route from Raola to Jaipur. Mr. Duli Chand said the Kisan Rath would cross Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Nagaur districts before reaching the State Capital on February 22.

Prominent among those who will address the meetings are the Kisan Sabha's national general secretary, K. Vardarajan, national joint secretary N.K. Shukla, and national vice-president and CPI(M) MLA Amra Ram. A large number of jeeps, tractors and bicycles will accompany the march when it enters Jaipur.

He said the BJP-led Government was suppressing the movements of farmers, labourers and the poor demanding their basic rights, such as employment, education, water and power. "Fifteen innocent farmers lost their lives in the police lathicharge and firing in Ghadsana, Raola, Khajuwala, Rawatsar and Sohela," he said.

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Kisan Rath to roll down from Raola today

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