PUNE: To demand stronger farmer friendly policies, over 1 lakh farmers will be carrying out a ‘long walk’ from Nashik to Mumbai from March 6. The farmers have started the planning for the event. Speaking about the protest, Kisan Gujjar of Kisan Sabha said, “The government has been fooling farmers for past few years and so we have decided to press for our demands”.
“The government has just flashed false advertisements, be it loan waiver or Jal Yukta Shivaar Scheme. The government is shying away from giving details and figures about their schemes, hence, we are planning a long walk from Nashik to Mumbai,” added Gujjar.
Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha (ABKS) will be present for the protest walk for the non-fulfilment of promises to the agrarian sector by the State government. “Around 1,753 farmers have committed suicide after the farm loan waiver was announced by the government last year,” Gujjar said.
The farmers’ demands include complete farm loan waiver, implementation of the suggestions of the Swaminathan Commission, transferring forest land in the name of those, who have tilled it for years. The farmers will also be demanding immediate monetary assistance to the farmers against crop damage by hailstorm and untimely rains.
Gujjar said that they are planning to take the highway route to Mumbai.
