Carrying sacks of grain, rolled-up bedding, cooking utensils and enough food to last a week, nearly 2,000 farmers marched into the outskirts of Bhopal on Tuesday after breaking through police barricades at the city’s southern edge, escalating a crop procurement dispute into one of the biggest political confrontations faced by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s government this year.
The farmers, representing 19 organisations under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), have announced that they will not leave until the government agrees to procure 100% of the state’s moong crop and addresses long-standing grievances over fertiliser distribution.
On Tuesday night, the procession reached districts located near the outskirts of Bhopal, where scores of policemen were deployed and attempted to stop them with multiple layers of barricades.
The farmers’ march to Bhopal was triggered primarily by demands for assured procurement of moong at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Farmers’ groups say that while the Centre has announced 100% MSP procurement for tur, urad and masur, moong procurement continues to be governed by the Price Support Scheme, under which procurement is generally capped at 25% of a state’s estimated production. They argue that the ceiling leaves a large share of the harvest to be sold in the open market, where prices are significantly below the MSP of Rs 8,768 per quintal for the 2026–27 season.
A farmer leader, Santosh Patwari, said, “We have been mobilising for over 20 days now. We had no option but to protest after we did not hear from the government despite sending multiple representations to the government. The farmers are unable to get a profitable rate for the sale of their moong produce, and we have no option but to go to the CM’s residence.”
The mobilisation began in Narmadapuram, where farmers first assembled at Sethani Ghat before beginning their march towards Bhopal. The administration initially prevented the procession from moving, triggering a sit-in protest. As evening approached and tensions mounted, authorities removed the barricades, allowing the march to continue. On Tuesday, the convoy advanced through Obaidullaganj and Raisen district towards the capital. Police again erected barricades at several locations, including toll plazas and the Mandideep border, while officials urged farmer leaders to hand over a memorandum instead of proceeding into Bhopal. The agitation presents another political challenge for the Mohan Yadav government, which only months ago was forced to dilute its proposed land-pooling policy for the 2028 Simhastha after sustained protests by farmers in Ujjain. Following weeks of demonstrations, the government revised several provisions of the policy and assured farmers that land would not be acquired without their consent.
Farmers’ organisations have also accused the administration of trying to prevent supporters from reaching Bhopal by placing barricades on roads leading out of villages in districts including Raisen, Vidisha, Harda, Narmadapuram and Budhni.
The administration has denied any attempt to suppress the protest, saying police deployment was aimed at maintaining law and order. Additional SP (Hoshangabad) Anil Sharma said, “The last point of the protest will be maintained at Hoshangabad, and we are constantly talking to the farmers to address their demands in a peaceful manner. There are all facilities here, and we have proper force to manage the situation.”
For more details: Navamalayalam.com