'We want to wake up the sleeping government'

While it is mid-March and the heat wave can be felt in Maharashtra,  thousands of farmers are travelling 180 km with barely any footwear, b4aving the hot sun and parched throats towards Mumbai so they can draw the attention of the Shinde government to their various problems. On March 13, 2023, a long march by 15000 farmers from Nashik to Mumbai started out under the aegis of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)and the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha.

Apart from them, ASHA workers have also joined the march that aims to draw the government's attention to various problems being faced by them.

This is the third long March led by Dr Ajit Navale, the General Secretary of the Maharashtra unit of the All India Kisan Sabha since 2018.

Navale alleged that the government does not intend to provide relief to farmers.

The protest has a 17-point charter of demands, including remunerative prices for onions, cotton, soybean, tur, green gram, milk, and harad (myrobalan, an ayurvedic medicinal herb). The farmers are seeking Rs 2,000 per quintal for onions, an immediate subsidy of Rs 600 per quintal, along with changes in export policies.

The farmers are also demanding an uninterrupted electricity supply for 12 hours and a waiver of agriculture loans. They also want steps to arrest a slide in the prices of soybean, cotton and tur and immediate relief to farmers affected by recent unseasonal rains and other natural calamities.

Dr Navale said, "We have already reached Igatpuri. CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis were to meet farmers to understand their various problems on Tuesday. However they couldn't reach out to the farmers.  They didn't bother to tell us the reason for cancelling the  meeting. We will reach Mumbai and ensure that the sleeping government led by Shinde awakens to understand the problems faced by the farmers."

Dr Navale said that MLAs Atul Save from Aurangabad and Dada Bhuse from Malegaon are interested in coming to Igatpuri and have discussions with the  farmers.