Jaipur

Hundreds of farmers staged a protest in Rajasthan's Sriganganagar district on Saturday, alleging inadequate procurement of wheat at Minimum Support Price (MSP) and irregularities in the purchase process.

Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a guaranteed price safety net in which the Indian government procures specific crops directly from farmers, guarding them from market price crashes and incentivising crop production. ​

Farmers have demanded that the government increase the wheat procurement quota and give priority to farmers who had already registered for the procurement process.

They also sought transparency in procurement, weighing and payment procedures.

The protesters reached Gangasingh Chowk in a tractor convoy and raised slogans in support of their demands.

Police erected barricades around the protest site and stopped the farmers from moving towards the collectorate, leading to a brief standoff that ended after discussions between farmer leaders and the administration. ​

Earlier in the day, farmers held a meeting at Gurdwara Singh Sabha to chalk out a strategy before proceeding to the protest site.

Farmer leader Sandeep Singh alleged large-scale irregularities in wheat procurement at MSP and claimed that their grievances remain unresolved despite repeated protests.

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"We have been protesting over these issues for a long time, but they have not been resolved so far," he said.

Farmer leaders warned that the agitation would intensify if their demands were not addressed at the earliest.