The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) will organise a 13-day ‘Kisan Bachao Padyatra’ from Kanori on the Haryana border to Delhi from August 16 to 29, seeking to protect farmers’ rights and the future of agriculture.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, SKM (Non-Political) national co-convener Kuruburu Shanthakumar said the padayatra would be led by national leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who had undertaken a 130-day hunger strike last year in support of farmers’ demands.

The major demands of the agitation include a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for agricultural produce, complete waiver of farmers’ loans, increase in the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane to ₹5,000 a tonne, exclusion of agriculture from the proposed India-US trade agreement, and withdrawal of all police cases registered against farmers during agitations across the country.

Mr. Shanthakumar also demanded that water be released immediately to all irrigation canals in the Cauvery basin for agricultural activities, claiming that more than 30 tmcft of water had already been released to Tamil Nadu.

“Karnataka was already releasing around 1.5 tmcft of water daily to Tamil Nadu. If rainfall declines suddenly, we will be left with no option. The CWMA should take into account Karnataka’s requirements,” he said.

He also demanded that the Centre facilitate the construction of the Mekedatu reservoir and issue a strong warning to Tamil Nadu against obstructing the project.

On the proposed Karnataka bandh on August 13 over the Cauvery issue, Mr. Shanthakumar said a decision on whether to withdraw the bandh or go ahead with it would be taken after discussions with farmer leaders.

More than 150 farmers and farmer leaders participated in the meeting, including Attahalli Devaraj, Bardhanapura Nagaraj and Kiragasuru Shankar, among others.

Published - August 11, 2026 07:22 pm IST