DEMONSTRATINGfarmers on the third day of protests in the State capital raised a fundamental question against administrative systems: why must farmers be forced to wait in queues at every single step of agriculture? First standing in lines for fertilisers, then in queues at fuel stations to run harvesting equipment, and finally outside procurement centres and mandis to sell their yield. Speaking from the protest site, several farmers like Narendra Pawar from Sehore, Rambhoresh Mundel and Lakhan Singh Tomar from Harda, Dharmendra Patel from along with Siddharth Raghuvanshi, Deepak Jat, and Yashwant Gaur from Narmadapuram, and Mekush from Itarsi, voiced their primary demands: 100% Government procurement of moong crop and the immediate scrapping of the e-token system. Flawed e-token system & technical barriers Farmers highlighted that a majority of cultivators are not educated enough or equipped with smartphones to handle technical digital processes. They stressed that the necessary network infrastructure to run such a digital system is not available in rural areas. Calling the e-token mechanism deeply flawed, one of the farmer from Hoshangabad shared that when he applied online for 5 bags of subsidised urea, the system allotted him a procurement centre in Gwalior, hundreds of kilometres away, making it entirely unfeasible to obtain. Farmers stated that instead of delivering convenience or service, the e-token system is failing on the ground. 100% moong procurement and direct subsidy transfer On crop procurement, farmers asserted that 100% Government purchase of moong is essential because private mandis are not even paying the basic cost of production.

 

Many farmers shared their ordeal and said that they have daughters marry, children whose fee needs to be paid and also need to bear the cost of production, how are they supposed to bear all the expenses if the government remains ardent to procure only 25 per cent of their total produced moong and private mandis pay half price. Addressing the issue of usage of harmful agricultural chemicals, farmers said, why not put a total ban on Paraquat and other deadly fertilisers at the market level. They questioned why the Government allows such chemicals to be sold openly in the market, but later uses their application as a reason to reject harvested crops at procurement centres. Regarding agricultural inputs, farmers raised the issue of fertiliser subsidies. They demanded that fertiliser subsidies should be paid directly to farmers rather than being transferred to fertiliser manufacturing multinational corporations. Farmers urged the government to sell fertilisers at their original cost and reimburse the subsidy directly to the farmers, asking why they are made to stand in queues and many times return empty hands from such centres while MNCs receive the funds. Day 3 Escalation: Barricades breached, Gen-Z joins protests T h e input from the ground shows that the protest escalated significantly on Wednesday afternoon.

 

At 1:30 pm, a large group of farmers, youth, and supporting Gen-Z members advanced toward police barricading near RRL Naka on Veer Savarkar Bridge. Protesters attempted to remove iron barricades, climbed onto police buses, and engaged in pushing and scuffling with police personnel, resulting in injuries to several officers. By 5 pm, protesters broke through multi-layered barricades and moved via Board Office toward Banganga and the Chief Minister’s residence. Police deployed a six-tier security set-up using trucks, buses, and iron barricades to stop the march. ‘Dal-Baati-Chokha’cooking on roads and administrative response: To mark their protest against inflation and crop pricing, several farmers removed their shirts. Demonstrators stayed on the road overnight, lighting wood fires to cook DalBaati-Chokha directly on the asphalt and dining together. Farmer leader Rakesh Dhakad affirmed that the movement will continue peacefully until their demands are met. The protest disrupted local normal life, causing major traffic jams along Hoshangabad Road and MP Nagar. Office-goers had to take long detours or park their vehicles to walk due to limited fuel. The district administration declared a holiday for all public and private schools along Narmadapuram Road. Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar stated that over 1,000 police personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order and ensure minimal public inconvenience, while continuous discussions are ongoing with farmer leaders to keep the protest peaceful.