Hundreds of farmers seeking loan waiver march on Eastern Express Highway, disrupt traffic

Mumbai city news: The farmers are currently resting at Five Gardens, from where they will march towards Parel

Hundreds of farmers from Kolhapur took to the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) to demand loan waivers on Monday morning, leading to traffic snarls.

The farmers are part of Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathna — an organisation that had supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) through its political arm, Swabhimani Paksha, in 2014.(Bhushan Koyande)

The farmers are part of Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathna — an organisation that had supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) through its political arm, Swabhimani Paksha, in 2014.

Traffic police kept a close watch on protesters. (Bhushan Koyande)

The group occupied one lane of the EEH during their rally. They moved from Sion to Matunga around 11.30 am, slowing down traffic. Traffic police officers said they were closely monitoring the situation to prevent the farmers from spreading out and disrupting traffic further.

“Traffic was moving slowly. We had alerted all the traffic divisions in the periphery of the EEH to keep the vehicles moving,” said an officer from Mumbai traffic police headquarters.

The farmers are currently resting at Five Gardens, from where they will march towards Parel and stay at the Shirodkar ground overnight. They are likely to continue their protests tomorrow morning by heading towards south Mumbai, traffic officials said.