Thousands of Indian farmers have camped outside the capital New Delhi toprotest against new laws that they claim will destroy their livelihoodsafter a fresh round of talks failed with the government.

“Yesterday there were talks between the farmer groups’ representatives andgovernment… the talks didn’t reach any conclusion. There is another roundof talks tomorrow,” Rakesh Tikait, a senior member of the Bharatiya KisanUnion, a farmer group, told Anadolu Agency on Friday.

Most of the farmers are from the northern Punjab state. They are blockingthe entryway to New Delhi after police did not allow them to enter thecapital.

“We will not end the protest until the government repeals the laws,” saidTikait.

On Thursday, 40 farmer leaders met senior Indian government ministers andheld a long meeting to resolve the matter. In a late-night statement, thegovernment said the meeting was held in a “cordial and frank atmosphere.”

“This was the fourth round of talks which was held in a cordial and frankatmosphere. The Unions have agreed to further participate in the nextmeeting on 5th December,” it said.

In September, the Indian government announced three agricultural reforms,which the farmers and experts believe will further exploit them andthreaten the food security of the country.

The government claims the new laws will give farmers greater autonomy toset their own prices and sell directly to supermarket chains. However,farmers say it would leave them worse off. They are asking the governmentto define minimum prices for crops so that they are not exploited by bigchains.

The protests by farmers are taking place at a time when the country’scoronavirus cases are inching toward the 10-million mark.

On Friday, nearly 37,000 new infections were registered to take the totalcases to 9.57 million. The COVID-19 death toll in the country has alsoreached 139,188.