The Jharkhand Rajya Kisan Sangarsh Samanvay Samity, an outfit coordinating the agitation against the Centre’s three agriculture laws in the state, has decided to reach out to over 34 lakh farmers to make them aware about the demerits of the acts by organising kisan mahapanchayats at district and block levels, as the movement touches 79 days.

Such mahapanchayats have already been organised in Uttar Pradesh with huge participation.

The first such kisan mahapanchayat in the state would be held at Rahe in Bundu block of Ranchi district on Saturday and would be followed with similar mahapanchayats in the remaining 23 districts of Jharkhand later this month.

This would be followed by panchayats organised across all the 260 blocks in Jharkhand.

“We have come to know that people from the ruling party (read BJP) are trying to use social media to spread rumours against the farmers’ agitation at Delhi’s borders. Through the mahapanchayats and farmers, as part of the directive of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions spearheading the movement), we would try to reach out to all the farmers in the state and make them aware that the new laws would prove to be their death knell and there is a need to protest for their repeal,” said the Samity’s state convener, Sufal Mahato, a farmer from Tamar area in Ranchi.

The farmers will also be informed about the February 18 rail roko agitation.

“During the mahapanchayats and panchayats, the farmers would be asked to come out in large numbers for the February 18 rail roko agitation which would be held across the country against the Union government. We would be inviting farmers, those who would be willing, to be part of our delegation to go to Delhi and sit in agitation along with our fellow farmers,” said Mahato.

Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been camping at Delhi’s borders seeking the repeal of the three agriculture laws. The protesting farmers have expressed the apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations. The government, however, has rejected these claims stating that the laws will only give farmers more options to sell their produce.

Several kisan panchayats have already been held since February 11 in different blocks of the state to garner support for the mahapanchayats.

“We have a target to reach out to nearly 30 lakh farmers in the state by the end of this month and prove those wrong who claim that Jharkhand farmers are not supporting the agitation by coming out and showing that all of us are against the new laws,” said Mahato.

During the panchayats, small rallies would also be taken out at district and block levels by the farmers.

During the recent chakka jam (road blockade) agitation against the farm laws, more than 20,000 farmers and supporters of the Congress, the JMM, Left parties and the RJD had come out on the streets across Jharkhand.