Reported by: mayuresh ganapatye
Edited by: Patikrit Sen Gupta
Last update: Mar 17, 2023, 01:32am IST
The protesting farmers had filed 17 lawsuits for approval by the state government. Photo/PTI
According to the farmers’ leaders, the state government agreed to all their demands during talks on Thursday, so until they issue official orders, the Long March will wait on the outskirts of Mumbai until March 20.
The ‘Long March’ of farmers that started in Maharashtra’s Nasik district will wait near the city of Vasind on the outskirts of Mumbai as the second meeting between the farmers’ leaders and the state government was fruitful. The peasant leaders were invited by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to hold talks on Thursday about their various demands. Along with the CM, Deputy Prime Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Agriculture Minister Abdul Sattar and officials from concerned departments were also present.
According to the farmers’ leaders, the state government has agreed to all their demands, so until they issue official orders, the Long March will wait on the outskirts of Mumbai until March 20.
The protesting farmers had filed 17 demands for the state government to approve, including remunerative prices for onion, cotton, soy, tur, green gram and milk. They have also demanded a fee of Rs 2,000 per quintal for onions, and an immediate subsidy of Rs 600 per quintal, as well as changes in the onion export policy.
Farmer leader and former MLA Jiva Gavit told the media: “The government has agreed to our demands. We have given them an ultimatum that orders must be issued within four days and effective implementation must occur at the taluka level. Until then, our Long March will remain on the outskirts of Mumbai in Vasind. We will withdraw our march and return to our villages only after the implementation starts in a certain time. Either we will continue our Long March and enter Mumbai.”
In the three-hour meeting, the state government discussed in detail all the farmers’ demands. There was also extensive talk on the issue of tribal farmers’ farmland ownership, 12 hours of electricity for farmers, and encroachments on tribal agriculture. CM Shinde assured the delegation of peasant leaders that this government is with them. “Today we had a very fruitful and positive discussion with the delegation of protesting farmers. We are with the farmers of the state. On this issue, I will make a statement in the plenary of the House. I have also asked them to withdraw their march and protest,” he said.
This is the third time that Long March farmers have contracted in the past 7 years due to their various demands. About 10,000 farmers from different areas of Maharashtra have participated in this protest march.
His other major demands include a full waiver of the loan to the peasantry, waiver of outstanding electricity bills and 12-hour daily power supply, compensation from the government and insurance companies for damages suffered by farmers due to to unseasonal rains and other natural calamities, increase in PM Housing Scheme subsidy from Rs 1.40 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, new survey and listing of applicants’ names on ‘D’ list, compensation in cases of necessary land acquisition according to the Kerala formula, filling of all vacancies in government posts, regularization of all contract workers and scheme workers as government employees, and replacement of “fake adivasi” in government posts with real ones.
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