Massive Protests In Maharashtra If Farmers Not Given Immediate Relief: Kisan Sabha

Farmers from across Maharashtra will launch an agitation if they are not provided immediate relief and assistance for crop damage due to unseasonal rains, the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha said on Thursday. It also condemned the detention of Prahar Janshakti Party’s newly-elected MLA Bachchu Kadu and several farmers in Mumbai on Thursday while they were taking out a protest march to Raj Bhawan over their various demands, including non-payment of crop insurance and loan waiver.

The pro-farmer outfit’s Maharashtra secretary Ajit Navale demanded that a "wet drought" be declared in the state, which is under President’s rule since Tuesday. “Leaders of various political parties are going to the farmers only for a photo-session as tourists. They forget the farmers as soon as they return to Mumbai,” he said in a statement issued in Delhi.

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Navale said an all-party delegation should go to Delhi to seek assistance from the National Disaster Relief Fund. The impasse over government formation should end soon and farmers should get immediate relief, he said, adding that crop insurance payments should be done as per the new ‘panchnamas’ (assessment), Navale said.

"The Kisan Sabha will stage protests outside the offices of all tehsildars (revenue officers) during the week and if there is a delay in providing relief, farmers will start a statewide agitation," he said. Navale, however, did not specify any date for the state-wide protest.