This story is from February 20, 2019

Maharashtra: Farmers' Nashik-Mumbai long march to begin from Thursday

The farmers long march towards Mumbai could not start on Wednesday as planned because of the obstruction from the local police.
Maharashtra: Farmers' Nashik-Mumbai long march to begin from Thursday
Farmers faced obstruction from the local police.
Key Highlights
  • At least 20,000 farmers have congregated in Nashik from different parts of the state.
  • They will camp there overnight and start walking towards Mumbai from Thursday.
  • The farmers are expected to reach Mumbai on Feb 27.
MUMBAI: The farmers' long march towards Mumbai could not start on Wednesday as planned because of the obstruction from the local police.
At least 20,000 farmers, mostly tribals and landless farmers, have congregated in Nashik from different parts of the state and will camp there overnight and start walking towards Mumbai from Thursday; they were expected to reach Mumbai on February 27.



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Meanwhile, irrigation minister Girish Mahajan was due to meet the protesting farmers in the night to discuss their issyes.
"Many more farmers are joining us. They were late, because the police have obstructed them from reaching Nashik. The meeting with Mahajan will be a preliminary one and we will start walking towards Mumbai from Thursday," said Ajit Navale of the All India Kisan Sabha.

This is the second such march in the last one year.
More than 40,000 farmers, mainly tribals who were tilling forest land had started walking from Nashik and reached Mumbai on March 12, 2018, one of their main demands for implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), under which they were to get ownership of the strip of land they have been tilling for years.
"This is a drought year and the problems of these marginal farmers have compounded," said Navale.
The farmers will cover 180 kilometres on foot. The budget session of the Vidhan Bhavan will be in session when the march reaches Mumbai.
There are 208 organisations who are supporting the March.
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About the Author
Bhavika Jain

Bhavika Jain, senior correspondent with The Times of India. While her primary beat is the BMC, she also keep tab on stories relating to other beats like heritage, environment and health. When she is not scouting for news stories, she usually watch films or try out new places to eat.

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