Farmers call off march after state govt steps in
MUMBAI: Thousands of farmers, who began a march from Nashik to Mumbai on Thursday morning, called off their protest late at night after the state government promised to meet their demands, set deadlines to do so and said review meetings would be held every two months to track the progress.
The farmers started walking at 9.30am from Nashik, and camped in an open ground in the Ambe Bahula village, 15km from where they started off, around 3.30pm.
Till late on Thursday, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) — the farmers’ group leading the protest — was in talks with the state’s water resources minister, Girish Mahajan, over demands including better relief for those hit by drought, revision of the state’s river-linking agreement with Gujarat, and a pension scheme among other things.
After a five-hour meeting, Mahajan promised timebound solutions to the farmers’ demands.
The government said one of the main demands — the handing over land under the forest department to farmers — will be fulfilled in one to three months.
“We have persuaded the Kisan Sabha members to call off the march. Their demands will be met in a timely manner, and a review meeting between the government and the Kisan Sabha leaders will take place every two months,” Mahajan said after the meeting.
The state government has been trying to defuse the agitation since Wednesday night. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis sent Mahajan with instructions to work out a solution with the farmers before they begin their march.