Agitating farmers in Maharashtra stepped up protest on day 4 of the ongoing strike on Sunday sticking to their demand for complete loan waiver and remunerative price for agricultural produce among other things. They dumped fruits and vegetables and blocked state and national highways while at some places they forced winding up of weekly market.
Besides, various organizations today met at Nashik and decided to go for Maharashtra bandh excluding Mumbai on June 5. These organizations reiterated their opposition to the deal struck between Kisan Kranti Morcha (KKM) and the state chief minister Devendra Fandavis who announced waiver of loan worth Rs 30,000 crore to 31 lakh farmers by October 31 after a high level committee’s report. Fadnavis also declared increase in milk prices by June 20 and waiver of penal interest rate payable by agricultural consumers to clear arrears of electricity tariff.
The Maharashtra Kisan Sabha leader Comrade Ajit Nawale, who was present at the meeting in Nashik, told DNA ‘’Farmers want action, not mere announcements. Therefore, the decision was taken not to withdraw strike and go for Maharashtra bandh on June 5. The strike will continue and future course of action will be decided at the rally organised on June 8 in Nashik.’’ Incidentally, BJP’s ally Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) have decided to actively join Monday’s bandh while another ally Shiv Sena and opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party have also extended their support.
SSS founder and MP Raju Shetti slammed his associate and now the minister of state for agriculture and marketing Sadabhu Khot for allegedly engineering split in the farmers strike.
Farmers continued their protest by throwing agricultural commodities on state and national highways while some resorted to rasta roko and march. The police fired bullet rounds in the air at Dalwat in Nashik district to control the agitating farmers who had unloaded trucks carrying tomatoes and onions on the road and attempted to block the road. The police also resorted to lathi charge as some farmers allegedly pelted stones on the police vehicles. About 150 farmers were later taken to the custody by the police.
Despite agitation, nearly 11 milk tankers and 194 trucks loaded with vegetables were proceeded to Mumbai amidst tight police security cover. Nashik district guardian minister and state water resources minister Girish Mahajan is camping in the city to take stock of the situation. Farmers declined to meet him as they insisted that the government should immediately issue gazette notification on loan waiver.
The weekly markets and wholesale markets mostly remained closed in Ahmednagar, Dhule, Nandurbar, Solapur, Pandharpur, Pune, Jalana and Osmanabad districts while the arrival of agricultural commodities was low at most of the agricultural produce marketing committees.
Meanwhile, the state revenue minister Chandrakant Patil today attacked former union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar saying who has stopped him for providing remunerative price to farmers as recommended by the MS Swaminathan Commission. Patil was reacting Pawar’s criticism against the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Pawar had said that the strike took place as the government had fallen asleep and the chief minister tried to create a rift between farmers to stop the strike.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Parbhani: Farmers spilling out milk on a road during their state-wide protest over various demands at Pingli Village in Parbhani")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}