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Niranjan Takle
Niranjan Takle

FARMERS' STRIKE

Farmers in Maharashtra begin indefinite strike today

maharashtra-farmer-strike Farmers from around Maharashtra threw milk on the road and stopped supply to Mumbai and Pune

Thirty three farmer organisations from Maharashtra began a strike from June 1.

“There have been many protests in the past, but never an indefinite strike where farmers will be refusing to sell their produce. This is a new satyagraha,” said Vijay Jawandhia, president of Kisan Co-ordination Committee.

Farmers from Nasik, Ahmednagar reached the highways at night to stop the supply of milk and vegetables to Mumbai while farmers from rural Pune, Satara and Sangli stopped their supply of milk and vegetables to Pune and Kolhapur.

“Tomatoes were thrown on the road and on the sides of farms. The present wholesale prices do not cover even the transportation cost,” said Nana Gunjal, a farmer from Nasik. A majority of the 314 Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC) in Maharashtra are controlled by the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena, and the strike is being supported by the Shiv Sena as well.

“Shiv Sena leaders from these districts have taken the responsibility to stop vehicles supplying vegetables and milk to major towns,” said Raghunath Patil, president of Shetkari Sanghatana.

“NCP will support the strike fully,” said Supriya Sule, the MP from Baramati and Sharad Pawar's daughter. “Maximum number of suicides – over 3,600 – happened in one year, but the government is spending crores on advertisements instead of giving Minimum Support Price (MSP).”

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had called a few farmer leaders to discuss the issue. A meeting was held over two hours at “Varsha”, the chief minister's official residence on Tuesday night.

“The chief minister clearly told us that the loan waiver cannot be given and the MSP also is not possible,” said Dhananjay Dhorde, a farmer leader from Ahmednagar. “He said that the state's growth will stop if we do that.” Ensuring MSP would in fact help the growth, he added, but it seems that the government has completely lost its understanding of the economy.

Farmers in Satara, Junnar and Narayangaon threw milk on the road and stopped supply to Mumbai and Pune.

“This is an indefinite strike and we will not surrender until all our demands are satisfied. We, in fact, appeal to the urban people to come out in support of us.”

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Topics : #Maharashtra

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