Shimla, July 30 -- Farmers, primarily apple growers, backed by various trade unions, women groups and apple growers' organisations on Tuesday held a protest against land evictions, deforestation of fruit-bearing trees, and government policies, outside the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat in Shimla.

The protest came a day after the Supreme Court stayed a high court order directing the removal of fruit-bearing orchards from encroached forest lands.

The joint protest, organised by the Himachal Pradesh Kisan Sabha, Apple Federation of India and the Himachal Pradesh Seb Utpadak Sangh, demanded an immediate halt to the eviction of farmers, stop the cutting of fruit-bearing trees, allocation of 5 to 10 bighas of land to landless farmers, regularis...