Farmers blocked National Highway 911 by putting up blockades at various places including Rawla, Ghadsana and Jaitsar
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Farmers staged protests and blocked highways in Rajasthan's Bikaner division on Saturday, demanding additional water for crop irrigation.
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The farmers sat on "dharna" and held meetings at different locations to demand the release of water in the Indira Gandhi Canal. They threatened to continue their protests till their demands were met.
Under the leadership of Sanyukta Kisan Morcha, farmers blocked National Highway 911 by putting up blockades at various places including Rawla, Ghadsana and Jaitsar. Five other places, including 13 MD Toll Naka, Ramsinghpur, Salempura and Khajuwala, have also been blocked.
Farmer leader Satyaprakash Sihag claimed, "2400 cusecs of water was released in the Anupgarh branch but the chief engineer has deliberately released less water. If water from all canals is divided into two parts and supplied to every farmer according to full capacity for five days, then there will be no problem."
He said that if there is any irregularity in the name of filling PHED tanks, then the agitation will continue.
The administration has made tight security arrangements in view of the farmers' agitation. About 500 police personnel have been deployed along with four additional SPs and 10 DSPs to control the situation.
Additional SP Surendra Kumar said that water cannons and special anti-riot vehicles have also been deployed to maintain peace. He said that all necessary security measures have been taken by the administration and the situation is being closely monitored.
DIG Gaurav Yadav is monitoring the entire situation, the ASP said.
On Friday, a meeting was held between the state government and a farmer delegation led by Amarjeet Singh Meharda, but they failed to meet a consensus.
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