Haryana : Chief minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday said a few villages in the state have turned into hotspots of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) because of the farmers' protests, news agency ANI reported. "A month ago, I appealed to farmer leaders to suspend their protest amid the Covid-19 spread. I told them they could resume after the situation is under control. Now it has emerged that these dharnas have made a few villages hotspots of Covid-19 as villagers travelled back and forth from the protest sites," he said. Urging farmers to suspend their agitation once more, he said, "In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, I once again appeal to the farmer leaders to suspend their protests. The only goal, of all of us, should be to save the lives of people in the time of this crisis. There is nothing more than human life."

Haryana on Thursday recorded 12,286 fresh cases of the disease, while 16,041 recoveries were reported in the state in 24 hours. As many as 163 people died of the disease in a day, taking the total death toll in the state to 6,238 on Thursday. In view of the rising cases, the state was put under lockdown till May 17.

The CM said rural areas of the state saw several Covid-19 hotspots come up recently and that the health department officials were prepping to carry out a door-to-door check-up campaign in order to curb the spread of the virus.

"The government will provide an insurance of ₹2 lakh if a poor person over the age of 50 dies due to the virus. The premium of Beema Yojana will be deposited by the state government in their accounts and from the same account, the amount of premium will be deducted", Khattar said, according to ANI.

Farmers have been protesting since November last year against the three farm laws passed by the Centre. The controversial laws are -- Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020.