Western UP farmers perform ‘shavaasana’ in protest on Yoga Day

Meerut: Farmers across Western Uttar Pradesh, organised under the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) jammed highways and performed yoga on the roads as a symbolic protest on International Yoga Day. The farmers were protesting against the killing of five agitating farmers in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, in police firing on June 6. Travellers across the region were stuck for several hours in jams which stretched several kilometres due to the blockade done by the farmers.

At many prominent crossings, farmers gathered in their hundreds to first block the road and then perform yoga on the mats and ‘dhurries’ which they brought with them. Several performed the ‘shavaasana’ as a symbolic reminder to the government of both farmers’ suicides and the problems facing the agricultural sector.

The BKU, which had earlier said that it would perform ‘protest yoga’ in Lucknow where Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be celebrating Yoga Day, made a last-minute change of plan and decide to hold the protest in all districts of UP except Lucknow.

“We successfully blocked highways in all districts in UP. But we decided to not do it in Lucknow as the PM was there. Out of respect for him we decided that it would be best if we do not hold the protest there. We are demanding that the Swaminathan Commission recommendations be implemented without delay and that farmers get income of 50% in addition to recovering their cost of cultivation, as promised also by the PM. We are also demanding justice for the families of the five farmers who were killed in Mandsaur,” said BKU president Rakesh Tikait.

Several residents complained about the blockade as they spent hours stuck in traffic jams. “I left my home in Dabathua (on the outskirts of Meerut) at around 8.30 am and the road was blocked by farmers. They were on the streets performing yoga. I was stuck for over two hours and could only leave at 11 am,” said a resident who was stuck in the jam.

The BKU is now planning on taking their protest forward and going to Madhya Pradesh to meet the families of the deceased and join the protesting farmers, Tikait added.