Thousands of labourers and farmers gathered at New Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan from all over the country on Wednesday, April 5, with numerous demands to the Union government. The Wire spoke to farmers, union leaders, and anganwadi workers from different regions to understand their demands.
“This is not the first time we have come to Delhi with our demands. In the past, we have come with the same demands of minimum support price (MSP), debt waiver, and withdrawal of the Electricity Bill, but the government is not listening to us,” said farmer Shamser Singh from Haryana, while talking to The Wire.
ASHA workers and anganwadi workers complained about not receiving their salaries on time. A worker who spoke to The Wire said, “During the COVID-19 lockdown when everyone was sitting at home, we were working day and night. But what did we get in return? Nowadays, we are still working day and night, and we are not even receiving our salaries on time.”
Farmers from Himachal Pradesh, who grow apples, spoke about the reasons that are forcing them to shift to other crops. “Apple can no longer support our survival. We are looking for different opportunities as the situation is not the same anymore,” the apple growers told The Wire: