Maharashtra: 30,000 Farmers Start Two-day Protest March From Thane to Mumbai
Their demands include implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report, loan waivers and drought compensations.
About 30,000 farmers and tribal people in Maharashtra have begun a two-day protest march from Thane, on Wednesday, November 21 against the government to get their long-pending demands fulfilled. Farmers and tribals from Vidharba, Ahmednagar and North Maharashtra and parts of the state are expected to join in on the protest.
The farmers are seeking implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report, claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), minimum support price (MSP) and the establishing of a judicial committee to ensure its implementation. They are also seeking complete waiver of farm loans and drought compensation—Rs. 50,000 for every acre of non-irrigated land and Rs. 1 lakh for every acre of irrigated land.
Pratibha Shinde, the general secretary of the Lok Sangharsh Morcha (LSM) told IE that the non-transference of the forest land on to the name of the tiller deprived tribal people from claiming benefits such as drought compensation and farm loan waiver. “Besides, the farmers are getting less than the MSP for their produce and there is no place where they can complain about it. So, there is a need to have a judicial system to keep check on whether the farmers are getting the MSP,” added Shinde.
On Wednesday, the protest march will culminate in Sion’s Somaiya ground where reportedly, the LSM will be holding a rally. On Thursday, the march will resume and end at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. This protest march comes almost nine months after Maharashtra farmers took out a much-publicised ‘long march’ against lack of fulfilment of their demands.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also lent support to the protesting farmers. Its spokesperson, Dhananjay Shinde said, “The government needs to look at the ground reality and announce drought in more affected areas.” The Indian Express reported that Shinde also requested people of all religions to join in on the protest march on Thursday and support the farmers’ demands. Apart from the AAP, reportedly, other political parties like Janata Dal (Secular), Peasants and Workers Party of India are also supporting the protest march.
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