At least seven policemen, including Ahmedabad Rural district superintendent of Police R V Asari, were injured in a clash with farmers, when cops tried to stop a farmers’ rally near Sanand town, better known for world’s cheapest car manufacturing plant of TATA Nano on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
The police said that they had also arrested a 15-20 persons and an FIR for attacking government officials on duty would be filed against them at Sanand GIDC police station
The farmers in the region staged the rally with a demand of water for irrigation. To press for their demands, the farmers on Tuesday announced that they would take out a Khedut Adhikar Rally (Rally for Rights of Farmers) from Sanand to State capital Gandhinagar.
“Police had denied them permission and so when the rally reached Sanand, we tried to convince their leaders not to go ahead and even as talks were on, some persons started pelting stones. Several of my men, including me, were injured and we had to resort to mild lathi-charge and fire tear gas shells to disperse the mob,” Asari said.
Farmers from Viramgam, Bavla and Sanand area had taken out a rally to seek water for agriculture. Roughly about 28,000-30,000 hectares of 14 villages in command area of Fatehwadi canal have not been getting water for agriculture.
The farmers were also opposing the fact that while industry in the region was being supplied water from Narmada canal, they have been denied any such facility.
They had taken out a rally to Gandhinagar to press for their demands.
Declaring his support to farmers, pro-quota stir leader and Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) co-ordinator, Hardik Patel in a statement said that farmers were baton-charged for raising a legitimate demand.
“Such atrocities proved that the state government is anti-farmer. It is their known method of being in power by terrorising people and suppressing every voice of dissent,” said Hardik.
Not only Hardik but OBC leader Alpesh Thakor too joined the bandwagon and criticized government saying that if legitimate demand of farmers would not be accepted, his organisation OBC Ekta Manch would initiate yet another agitation.