With blistered and cracked feet from five days of walking, they made it to the city's Azad Maidan just before dawn. They have been sitting there since. A group has been invited by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for talks on their demands.
They plan to stage a sit-in outside the state assembly building or Vidhan Sabha.
Some 50,000 farmers have walked all the way from Nashik, 180 km away, soldiering through the searing heat, sparse meals and open air sleeping, to be heard. They are demanding waivers on agricultural loans after unseasonal rain destroyed crops, and also more support from the government and fair prices for their produce. The transfer of land to tribal farmers is also on their list.
Led by the Left-affiliated All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), they entered Mumbai on Sunday and stopped at Sion in the suburbs. They had plans to march to the Azad Maidan today, after some rest.
On an appeal from the Chief Minister, who urged the farmers not to hold up traffic on a day of crucial school exams, the crowd decided to forgo rest and sleep. A little after midnight, they started walking towards the Azad Maidan, 15 km from Sion.
Images show the huge contingent on a prominent flyover, guided by the lights from cameras and cars. In the day, it would have been a traffic mess for Mumbai. A lit-up Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus provided a spectacular backdrop as the protesters marched to folk songs.
One of the farmers said he never had a chance to go to school and appreciated the request to spare students any trouble. "I understand the importance of education and our protest will not create problems for students as well as commuters," he told NDTV.
The gesture has won social media.
50,000 farmers walked 180kms, asking for the rightful compensation for their crop. On their last stretch they walked all night making sure they didn't disturb the SSC board examinations. #Compassion#respect#Salute#JaiKisan - 🙏🏽🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/epa0a90A6u
— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) March 12, 2018
Many have offered help and support in unusual ways. Footwear is being donated by people and groups who were moved by images of the farmers' feet. Some showered flowers on the marchers and others took selfies with them. There were reports of food sent in kilos.
Several political parties, including the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, the Aam Aadmi Party and even the Shiv Sena - which is part of the ruling alliance - have offered support to the farmers.
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Senior minister Girish Mahajan, who walked with the march around 3.30 am, told NDTV that the Maharashtra government has been in touch with the farmers ever since their march began.Government sources suggest the protesters will not be allowed to proceed beyond Azad Maidan and a group will be allowed to come to the Vidhan Bhavan to meet the Chief Minister.
