Amid agitating farmers planning to head for the national capital to voice their demands, Delhi’s villagers and farmers have also announced they will hold a Mahapanchayat in North West Delhi’s Mangolpuri on December 22 to press for the resolution of their long-pending concerns related to the city’s rural population.

The chief of Palam 360, the largest khap panchayat of North India, Chaudhary Surender Solanki, on Saturday assured the farmers of Pochanpur village in South West Delhi that while villagers from the national capital have been raising their voices peacefully through the ‘Gaon Dehat Bachao Yatra’, if necessary, the khap panchayat would gherao the LG and CM’s residences to press for the fulfilment of their demands, citing the deteriorating state of affairs in the rural belt.

Solanki hit out at the Delhi and central governments, alleging that the city’s rural belt has been neglected for a long time, with civic issues piling up and forcing people to live in inhuman conditions.

He said that the villages are being neglected to such an extent that their very existence is being affected, as day-to-day life is plagued by civic woes, including broken roads, overflowing drains, dirty streets, and a lack of basic amenities.

The leader of the city’s villages alleged that the governments are not listening to genuine demands that have been pending for a long time and warned that the rural belt will no longer remain silent with just verbal assurances; rather, it needs solutions in writing.

He said that the ‘Gaon Dehat Bachao Yatra’ has so far traversed more than 300 villages, where residents have decided to boycott the upcoming elections if their problems are not resolved. They have given the governments time until December 22 to come up with solutions; otherwise, the 360 villages will intensify their movement.

He said that the government should not underestimate Delhi’s farmers and villagers by considering them weak.

In the present-day scenario, farmers in North India are also gearing up to voice their demands, Solanki alleged, adding that if the issues of the city’s rural belt are not addressed or a solution is not found, they will call for a Mahapanchayat of farmers from across the country.