To check farmers’ stir,MP govt curbs social media use
DIRECTIVE Wary of Mandsaur repeat, Narsinghpur limits digital space use till Jan BHOPAL:
Wary of farmers using social media and messaging application WhatsApp to consolidate a Mandsaur-like agitation, the Narsinghpur district administration has banned residents from posting or forwarding ‘provocative’ messages and photographs on the digital spaces until early next year.
Farmers of the district, one of the main sugarcane-producing regions in central India, have been agitating for better produce prices over the last few days. On Saturday, enraged protesters collected blood samples and then proceeded to write their demands in blood on the district collectorate’s walls.
The agitating farmers started a relay hunger strike from Tuesday to press for their demands. Babu Singh Patel, leader Kissan Union Sangh said the farmers were demanding prices according to the percentage recovery of sugar from the sugarcane.
“Earlier we were promised that if the recovery is over 9.5 %, we will given a price of ₹350. But this year the lab tests have shown that sugar recovery from sugarcane is over 11.5 %. So we are pressing for a price of around ₹350 per quintal”, he said
Madhya Pradesh had witnessed one of its worst farmer agitations at Mandsaur in June, during which farmers used social media to coordinate protests and issue updates, forcing the administration to temporarily cut off internet connectivity in the area.
The order issued by Narsinghpur additional district magistrate J Sameer Lakra under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure-1973 bans residents from posting or forwarding provocative/objectionable messages through social media platforms. It also prohibits protest rallies as well as publishing, printing or painting of provocative words on cutouts, banners, posters, hoardings and flags across the district. The order will remain in force until January 11 next year, and strict action will be taken against violators.
Salil Dhagat, district agriculture officer of Narsinghpur, told HT over the phone that sugarcane farmers were demanding a significantly higher price for their produce. “At present, farmers get ₹270 per quintal of sugarcane from traders and sugar mill owners. They, however, want ₹350 to ₹400 for the same amount,” he said. “The price fixed by the government is ₹255 per quintal.”
Sugarcane, sown between October and November, is a oneyear duration crop. Narsinghpur accounts for over 50% of the crop’s total cultivation in Madhya Pradesh. Sugarcane is grown in over 20-22% (55,000 hectares) of the district’s total land under cultivation of three lakh hectares.