Maharashtra farmers stir still on, outfits say demands not met

Farmers continued their agitation in many parts of Maharashtra choking the movement of vegetables despite one group claiming that the stir was called off after talks with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

As per reports received from different centres, farmers came out in protest and over 100 of them were held in different places since last night, police said.

As the agitation prolonged, prices of vegetables and fruits kept rising in cities including Mumbai due to drastic fall in supplies from production centres like Nashik and Ahmednagar.

Farmers have been on war path since June 1 over their demands, including waiver of farm loan and other concessions like lower power tariff.

A group of farmers from Puntambe village in Ahmednagar met Fadnavis last night and promised that the strike would be called off after he assured them that the government would take necessary steps to consider their demands.

“The strike is withdrawn and there should not be any violent protests against state (sic) anymore,” Fadnavis tweeted this morning.

However, later in the day, the Kisan Kranti Morcha leader, Samjay Patil Ghatnekar, said the strike was still on.

“Farmers strike has not been called off. On the contrary, it will intensify in the coming days,” said Ghatnekar, a member of the Kisan Kranti Morcha, one of whose representatives had met Fadnavis.

“On one hand, as a member of the Kisan Kranti Morcha, I was invited to the CM’s bungalow late evening. While on my way towards Mumbai, police officials of Pune rural region stopped my vehicle and took us to Dehu road police station. When the announcement to call off the stir was made around 4 am, we were let off from the police station,” he said.

“The government has tried to create a rift between farmers,” he added.

Facing flak, Jayaji Suryavanshi, who led the delegation to Fadnavis, later in the day “apologised” for calling off the stir.

“The strike was only called off temporarily. But, if farmers want it to continue, I am with them. I have made a mistake but do not hesitate to apologise to farmers because I am their son,” Suryavanshi told reporters here.

Ashok Dhawale, vice president of Maharashtra State Kisan Council, said the decision to call off the stike was taken single-handedly and was a “betrayal” to farmers.

He said that Suryavanshi misled farmers and created confusion among them.

Meanwhile, the core committee of farmers in Puntamba village protested against those who met Fadnavis last night.

“The CM had earlier agreed to concede more of our demands than what he had agreed to last night. Our decision was that once the meeting with the CM was over, the gram sabha will take a final call if the strike has to be called off. Instead, the decision to call it off was taken there itself,” the core committee leaders said.

The core committee of farmers in Nashik also said the agitation would continue until the chief minister announced a total loan waiver and implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan committee.

The Ahmednagar Agricultural Produce Market Committee received only 37 quintals of vegetable today, as against nearly 1,000 quintals a day before the stir began.

There is production and sale of around 20 lakh litres of cow milk in Ahmednagar everyday. But the cooperative milk producer institutions and private milk companies received only 3 lakk litres of milk at their centres, official sources said.

In Nashik, the striking farmers at Soygaon in Yeola poured milk on the roads while women from the cultivators’ families staged ‘rasta roko’ at Dindori near Nashik and blocked vehicular traffic towards Gujarat, rural police said.

The farmers’ outfits also staged a road blockade at Musalgaon phata at Sinnar.

At least 113 farmers were held during the protests across the state since last night for allegedly resorting to violent methods like damaging public property, arson and other offences during the protest, an official said.

“Police have arrested around 113 protesters till late last night. As it is a continuous process, the figures may increase,” Bipin Bihari, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) told PTI.

Since the start of the stir, farmers had blocked trucks carrying produces in various parts of the state and also thrown milk and vegetables on the streets.

The heat of the protest was also witnessed in Jalgaon, Osmanabad, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Beed, Nanded, Hingoli, Buldhana, Nandurbar too, he added.

The opposition Congress and the NCP as well Shiv Sena, which is a partner in the BJP—led government, backed the stir and wanted the government to agree to the demands of farmers hit by drought and fall in prices of produce.

Social activist Anna Hazare has offered to mediate on the the issue and urged the farmers to refrain from violent protests.

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