Farmers start 3-day march at Ahmednagar

The 53-kilometre march is organised by All India Kisan Sabha and other left-backed organisations. The farmers have also declared ‘Mahapadav’ (to continue to stay at the location) if their demands are not met.

Mumbai: Thousands of farmers from Maharashtra on Wednesday started a three-day long march from Akole to Loni in Ahmednagar. The march will conclude at the state revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil’s office.

HT Image

The 53-kilometre march is organised by All India Kisan Sabha and other left-backed organisations. The farmers have also declared ‘Mahapadav’ (to continue to stay at the location) if their demands are not met.

They have demanded the vesting of forest lands in the names of peasants and agricultural workers tilling it for years, as remunerative prices for milk, cotton, soybean, tur, gram and other agricultural produce among other things.

“The state government had promised to resolve the issues more than a month ago when a long march was carried out from Nashik to Mumbai, but nothing has happened thus far,” said Ajit Nawale, joint secretary, ABKS.

Last month, the farmers’ march, which started in Nashik and was headed to Mumbai, halted at Thane’s Vasind on March 16 after chief minister Eknath Shinde assured a delegation that the state government would accept most of their demands.