Farmers' agitation reaches west UP, BKU takes out tractor march

Lucknow: The ongoing farmers' agitation threatened to spread to the western Uttar Pradesh towns after scores of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) workers took out a tractor march in several districts on Wednesday in support of the farmers' demand for legal guarantee on the MSP.

BKU president Naresh Tikait hinted at a bigger agitation and said that a meeting of the farmers' leaders had been convened on Thursday in which the future course of action would be decided.

Addressing a gathering of the farmers, Naresh Tikait said that the farmers would take to the streets on February 26 in different places. He, however, asked the farmers not to block roads during their agitation. ''Prepare for a bigger agitation,'' he told the farmers.

''This government has failed to resolve the issues concerning the MSP and others being faced by the farmers in the country,'' BKU Muzaffarnagar district president Yogesh Verma said.

According to the reports, hundreds of farmers, many of whom were driving their tractors, marched to the district collectorates and submitted memoranda to the officials before calling off their agitation.

Tractor marches were undertaken in Meerut, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and some other places. At many places the farmers had a scuffle with the cops also when they tried to break the barricades.

BKU spokesman Rakesh Tikait said that they were ready to go anywhere to support the farmers' agitation. ''The farmers are united on the issue of MSP and Delhi is not far from here,'' he added.