Chandigarh, Jan 4 (PTI) Punjab Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian on Saturday sought Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's personal intervention urging that the Centre should hold a dialogue with the protesting farmers at the earliest to break the impasse.

He told Chouhan that farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal is sitting on an indefinite hunger strike for the past 40 days at Khanauri protest site in Punjab.

Also Read | What Is Brushing Scam? How To Identify and Protect Yourself From Fraudsters Targeting Online Shoppers? All You Need To Know.

He said being a Union agriculture minister, Chouhan should take personal interest in the matter.

During a virtual meeting, Chouhan on Saturday reviewed various schemes with state agriculture ministers and sought their suggestions on ongoing programmes and budget allocation ahead of the Union Budget.

Also Read | SBI SCO Recruitment 2025: Applications Open For 150 Trade Finance Officers Posts at sbi.co.in, Know Steps to Apply.

Punjab's Agriculture Minister Khuddian, who joined the meeting through video-conferencing, raised the matter related to the protesting farmers and some other issues.

Khuddian also told Chouhan that the latter has remained Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

He said states have many hopes towards the Centre and hoped that he will make personal intervention and will contribute in the present matter.

Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal is on an indefinite hunger strike for 40 days over farmers' various demands including seeking a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Farmers, on a warpath against the BJP-led Centre over their demands, held a "Kisan Mahapanchayat" at Khanauri on Saturday.

Meanwhile, according to a Punjab government statement, Khuddian said, it is imperative that the Centre should take immediate action to address the grievances of farmers and save Dallewal's life.

He reiterated that the Punjab Government supports the farmers' legitimate demands, it said.

The farmers, under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 last year, after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

Dallewal (70) has so far refused to take any medical aid despite his prolonged fasting, which has caused his health to deteriorate.

Asked about holding talks with the protesting farmers to end the logjam, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Wednesday that the government will act in accordance with the Supreme Court's instructions on the ongoing farmers' protest at the Punjab-Haryana border.

Farmer leaders had earlier said Dallewal had not eaten anything during his fast and was surviving only on water.

Meanwhile, raising another issue in the meeting, Khuddian sought Rs 15,000 per acre for the farmers as gap funding for providing returns over the variable cost of alternative crops to wean away them from the water-guzzling paddy crop.

He emphasised that since, the fast depleting underground water and climate change in the region are major cause of concerns and there is an emergent need to shift maximum area from paddy to another alternative crops-- maize, cotton, kharif pulses and oilseed crops under crop diversification scheme so that farmers can get profit equal to paddy.

The AAP leader also suggested that the Centre should come forward to hold the arm of the state farmers by offering financial assistance of Rs 2,500 per acre to the farmers for managing paddy straw scientifically.

Khuddian sought go ahead for the cultivation of BG 3 hybrid seeds, which are pink bollworm and whitefly resistant, in the state as over a few years there have been many pest attacks, he said.

Apart from this, subsidy should be given under centrally sponsored schemes on improved cotton hybrid seeds to revive cotton production in the state, he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)