PRAYAGRAJ, July 22 -- Thousands of farmers, many arriving on tractors from across Uttar Pradesh, converged at the protest site near the All Saint's Cathedral in Civil Lines on Tuesday for the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Tikait faction's "'Dera Dalo, Ghera Dalo Kisan Samman Mahapanchayat", mounting pressure on the government over a wide range of agrarian and civic issues despite the absence of BKU leader Rakesh Tikait.

Tikait could not attend the mahapanchayat as he was engaged in an ongoing protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. The gathering was led by BKU's state youth president Anuj Singh, who addressed the farmers and spearheaded the programme.

The farmers raised concerns over the availability of fertilisers, demand for 16-18 hours ...