“I am the son of a farmer”, said an 11-year-old Samarth while introducing himself. He travelled almost 200 kilometers on foot with his grandparents to Mumbai along with other 30,000 farmers, demanding a complete loan waiver. He was sitting next to an old woman, whose feet were bruised and bandaged after walking on the scorching roads for six days.
At a certain distance from them was an ambulance near which the protesting farmers had queued up to get first aid.
Their legs have almost given up, the blazing sun has drained out every drop of sweat it could, but they are determined to meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and place their three basic demands:
- Unconditional loan waiver.
- Transfer of forest land to tribal farmers who have been tilling it for years.
- Implementation of the M S Swaminathan Commission report, which says farmers should be paid one-and-a-half times the cost of production and the Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be fixed.
The farmers plan to surround the Maharashtra Assembly complex to press for their demands.
They reached Azad Maidan early on the morning of Monday, 12 March, after camping at KJ Somaiya Ground in Mumbai’s Sion area.
In November, last year, the state government announced a farm loan waiver, terming it the "biggest loan waiver in Maharashtra's history".
According to PTI, state Governor Vidyasagar Rao in February told the state legislature that the government has transferred over Rs 12,000 crore into bank accounts of 31 lakh farmers.
The farmers, however, have a different story to tell. They say that the system is flawed and the benefits reach only some farmers who meet the criteria laid down by the government.
The opposition Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and also Shiv Sena, which is part of the BJP-led ruling alliance in the state, have extended their support to the farmers' demands.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray met the farmers on Sunday, 11 March.
The CPI(M)-affiliated All India Kisan Sabha, which is spearheading the protest, said it will consider what the government has to offer. CPI(M) leader Ashok Dhawle said over 50,000 people have joined the protest. Tribals from Thane district have joined the farmers from Nashik district in the protest.
Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan, who welcomed the march at Mulund in suburban Mumbai on Sunday, said the government, which has met earlier demands by farmers, will consider their latest ones.
While there is no likelihood of all farmers being allowed to proceed to the Assembly complex from Azad Maidan, a delegation of farmers will be allowed to meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
(With inputs from PTI)
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