Farmers long march moving from Mulund towards Mumbai. They will stay at Somaiya ground in Sion. (Express Photo by Vishwas Waghmode)
Braving the blazing sun, more than 30,000 farmers from across Maharashtra covered an arduous 180-km long march to reach the capital city Mumbai on Sunday to stage a protest outside the state legislature against what they call the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government’s failure to respond to prevailing farm distress.
The farmers’ “long march” has been called by Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha (ABKS), a Left-affiliated outfit. Agitating farmers are planning to gherao the state legislature on Monday as part of their protest.
Some of the key demands of the farmers include a complete farm loan waiver, transfer of forest land to tillers, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, compensation of Rs 40,000 per acre to farmers hit by hailstorm and pink bollworm, and putting a stop to sharing the state’s water with Gujarat.
Reflecting on the ongoing march, CPM general secretary slammed the BJP government for its “oppressive policies” against the farmers. “Farmers marching into Mumbai. To ensure that the BJP govt does not deceive them again. They should get their rightful due,” he tweeted.
Apart from middle-aged farmers and youngsters, a large number of women and senior citizens are part of the march. The Peasants and Workers Party and CPI also extended support to the long march. According to ABKS leaders, close to one lakh people are likely to join the march it reaches Mumbai.
READ | Maharashtra: Shiv Sena, MNS, AAP extend support to farmers’ march
NDA ally Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) of Raj Thackeray and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have also thrown the weight behind the march. On Friday night, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, a senior minister in the Fadnavis government, had met leaders of the agitation with party chief Uddhav Thackeray’s message of support.
People washing faces, taking baths in a small pond close to service road of Eastern Express Highway (Express Photo by Vishwas Waghmode)
“Shiv Sena, MNS, AAP and a few other social organisations have extended their support to the long march. We have accepted it. We will accept the support of those who come forward,” said Ajit Nawale, state general secretary of ABKS.
ALSO READ | Farmers’ march to Assembly: Nashik to Mumbai with night halt in darkness by river
The farmers had started their march on Tuesday from the CBS Chowk in Nashik, the location of the March 2016 demonstration when close to one lakh farmers had gathered for two days. The farmers are covering 35 kilometers daily, on an average.
With thousands of farmers marching towards Vidhan Sabha, traffic restrictions were put in place between Sion and Mulund. The march will be proceeding from Sion to South Mumbai on Monday, after taking a night-halt at Somaiyya Ground in Sion.
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- MAMUTTY CHOLAMar 11, 2018 at 8:51 pmTotal lack compassion in dealing with farmers back bone of the nation.BJPs acche din is big joke. All section of society be in farmers, working class, sc ,st, obc, minorities, small business men, student educated youths sr citizens all are at receiving end. Stock silence from Modiji, PM IS WORRYING, iF NOT HANDLED WITH IMAGINATION AND COMPASSION MARK MY WORDS THERE WILL BE SERIOUS LAW AND ORDERS ISSUES BESIDES HUGE INCONVENIENC ETO TE PEOPLE IN MUMBAI. 'Reply
- Ashok DhingraMar 11, 2018 at 7:49 pmC M of Maharashtra has told farmer's delegation that he will do whatever instructions he receives from RSS Hqrs at Nagpur. Otherwise, he himself is impotent.Reply
- Sushil AhujaMar 11, 2018 at 7:24 pmमूर्ख को मूर्ख ना कहने का result: मूर्ख Adani owes us 72000 cr, मूर्ख Anil owes us 51000 cr, मूर्ख मूर्ख Modi Dhoot owes us 32000 cr and मूर्ख Modi NiravModi gets away with over 14000cr. JumlaGovt makes fake claims, बेशर्मdon't feel the genuine plight of the Farmers. Undiluted_fakeजु ा promises have been peddled every minute The poor farmers have been taken for a ride. Wear # diamond_necklace and fly away with modiमूर्ख or # March_Barefoot 35km perday from Nasik to Bombay for six days. # Barefoot_march started on last tueday but no news given by modi_गोदीmedia... NoGods NoReligions NoCastes Newlyborn has NoReligions..... let us bring fundamental changes right from birth.... Guitaruncle 08178512696 , 24×7 मूर्ख को मूर्ख ना कहने का नतीजा: Wear # diamond_necklace and fly away with modiमूर्ख ! (₹4,00,000 Crore)÷(130लोग,we the people) {₹3000 per person's जेब कतरन}Reply
- Bhadrapati DeviMar 11, 2018 at 8:36 pmWe should not encourage willful defaulter of bank loan. The logic of some willful defaulters of Corporate bodies may be excuse to spread the idea of defaulting bank loan. Who will believe in banking system?Reply
- Sushil AhujaMar 11, 2018 at 7:19 pm4lakh करोड खरच हो चुका है image building में । modi_नकली_diamond बना 4lakh crore से।अच्छा बिकता जा रहा है । मूर्ख को मूर्ख ना कहने का result: मूर्ख Adani owes us 72000 cr, मूर्ख Anil owes us 51000 cr, मूर्ख मूर्ख Modi Dhoot owes us 32000 cr and मूर्ख Modi NiravModi gets away with over 14000cr. JumlaGovt makes fake claims, बेशर्मdon't feel the genuine plight of the Farmers. Undiluted_fakeजु ा promises have been peddled every minute The poor farmers have been taken for a ride. Wear # diamond_necklace and fly away with modiमूर्ख or # March_Barefoot 35km perday from Nasik to Bombay for six days. # Barefoot_march started on last tueday but no news given by modi_गोदीmedia... NoGods NoReligions NoCastes Newlyborn has NoReligions..... let us bring fundamental changes right from birth.... Guitaruncle 08178512696 , 24×7 (₹4,00,000 Crore)÷(130we the people) {₹3000 per person's जेब कतरन}Reply
- Vijay SimhaMar 11, 2018 at 7:02 pmThis is clearly a Marxist led agitation by the Red outfit( ABKP). They want to destroy Indian's forests and also continue to support bad farming practices which year after year lead only to toxic loans. It is a fact that the Indian farmer is least educated when you compare him with farmers from other countries in the world. Governments have done very little to MODERNIZE INDIAN FARMING and make it profitable to both farmer and the society. The farmer MUST make the best use of his plot of land and make it profitable. He cannot give excuses. He cannot deplete the country of its forest cover or wildlife sanctuaries. The Marxist (ABKP) wants to destroy the following tiger sanctuaries in Maharashtra: Tadoba, Melghat and Pench totally. We would rather totally wipe out the Marxists in India than wipe out our wildlife and environment. The farmers must be sent home and the government should tackle the problem by encouraging technically qualified farming.Reply
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