SKM backs Feb 12 nationwide strike; Himachal apple farmers to join

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) is backing a nationwide strike on Feb 12 called by trade unions to protest privatisation and new laws. Himachal's apple farmers are also joining, planning a Delhi march against reduced import duties.

SKM Announces Support for Nationwide General Strike

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has announced its full support for the nationwide general strike called by Central Trade Unions (CTUs) on February 12. The joint action aims to protest the privatisation, contractualisation, four labour codes, the Electricity Amendment Bill 2025, changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), and the proposed Seed Bill. Large-scale participation from farmers, agricultural workers, and industrial unions nationwide is expected at protest sites across the country, including PRTC, power employees, and other worker organisations.

Himachal Apple Farmers to Join Strike, March to Delhi

Meanwhile, Apple farmers in Himachal Pradesh have intensified preparations to join the nationwide farmers' strike on February 12 and announced a Delhi march, warning that recent import duty reductions under India-US and other free trade agreements could devastate the hill state's apple-based economy, despite repeated assurances by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal that Indian apple growers' interests will be protected.

Farmer organisations across Himachal Pradesh have accused the Centre of pursuing "anti-farmer" trade policies and said growers are now ready to march to Delhi as part of a united national movement. The call was reiterated during block-level meetings of the Himachal Pradesh Apple Growers' Association (HPAGA) held in Jubbal and Rohru, where orchardists resolved to mobilise farmers at the village level for the February 12 strike.

'This Storm Has Already Reached Our Fields'

Former MLA and senior farmers' leader Rakesh Singha cautioned that reduced import duties on apples from the United States, New Zealand and European Union countries would expose local growers to heavily subsidised foreign produce. "The impact of this policy will be very deep. American apple farming is backed by massive subsidies and corporate players like Walmart and Cargill. Our farmers do not get even a fraction of that support. This reduction in import duty will destroy apple orchards here. This storm has already reached our fields, and it will uproot everything," Singha said. (ANI)

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