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Maharashtra: Agitating farmers reject call for dialogue, insist on farm loan waiver

Stray incidents of violence reported during strike across Maharashtra

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Agitating farmers, who have gone on strike since midnight yesterday across Maharashtra, have turned down proposal by the state agriculture minister Panduran Phudkar and his deputy Sadabhau Khot for a dialogue.Instead they have demanded that talks will be possible only after the government writes off loan worth Rs 30,000 crore. 

The strike was marred by stray incidents of violence, stone pelting and damage to the vehicles carrying fruits, vegetables and milk. Farmers continue to spill milk, dump fruits and vegetables on roads. In Nashik, the police made lathi-charge to bring the situation under control after trucks full of pomegranates and onions headed to different cities in the state were unloaded on the street. So far, 21 people have been detained.  

Jayaji Suryavanshi, who is one of one of the organisers of an indefinite strike, told DNA from Aurangabad that the farmers are not in a mood to call off the strike as they want the government not to waste further time in announcing the crop loan waiver. 

‘’If the government and banks can write off loans of big industrial houses and other sections of the society why it was not keen to take similar decision for genuine farmers who are reeling under severe crisis. A concrete proposal with regard to loan waiver has been already submitted to the state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis two day ago but the government has not yet acted positively,’’ Suryavanshi said.

He said if the government announces loan waiver the farmers will call off the strike and they will discuss their other demands including higher price for agriculture produce, implementation of Swaminathan Commission report, subsidy for drip irrigation.

Phundkar however said,’’The Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will have a 'plan B' ready to face any situation if farmers stop sending vegetables and milk to Mumbai."  

Interestingly, BJP’s ally Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana has not only extended its support to the farmers strike but decided to close milk collection. 

Suryavanshi said he was allegedly beaten up by a group of traders in Aurangabad. He at the same time admitted some stray incidents of stone pelting damaging the vehicles carrying fruits and vegetables and milk took place at couple of places especially in the western and southern Maharashtra. 

However, he said the strike has been 100% in Nashik, 70% each in Ahmednagar, Pune, Satara and Sangli. Farmers have stopped selling their produce at the agricultural produce marketing committees. This has resulted in complete stoppage of functioning of these committees across the state.

Wholesale markets in Nashik are also shut. Seventeen wholesale markets have reported no business. Businesses at several agricultural produce marketing centres have also been affected. 
According to the representatives of farming community, the weekly markets in Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Ahmednagar, Beed and Osmanad districts have been closed due to lack of arrival of vegetables and fruits. Besides, farmers have sat on hunger strike at Beed and couple of other places and they took out morcha too.

Suryavanshi said the supply of milk, fruits and vegetables to Mumbai will actually cripple from tonight and early Friday morning due to lack of sale by farmers to the traders and their transaction at the agricultural produce marketing committee.

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