Farmers plan protest march in Delhi on November 20, 30
Eight months after farmers from all over Maharashtra marched from Nashik to Mumbai, the All India Kisan Sabha, on Monday announced a similar march in November, but this time it will be in Delhi.
"We have announced a farmers' march on November 29 and 30 in Delhi as the assurances given by the government are not yet fulfilled," Dr Ashok Dhawale, President of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) told NDTV.
Hanumant Dharmagavale, a farmer, who had walked 200 kilometre from Nashik to Mumbai to voice his troubles said that nothing has been done yet. Almost a year is over and 90 per cent of his 5-acre paddy field is destroyed because of drought but he is yet to receive any help from the government.
"We are not getting the Minimum Support Price or MSP for our crops. The MSP promised is only on paper; it hasn't been implemented yet," he said Dharmagavale.
Sumanrao Bigte, a widow from Hingoli district of Vidarbha, earns only Rs 100 per day, after working for 12 hours in the field and that too is dependent on availability of work. "I don't get money on time as there is no work. I have to pay utility bills, children's education and costs are spiraling," she told NDTV.
Drought-hit farmers in central Maharashtra say as there is no work in their hometown, migration may be the only option to earn their livelihood.
The AIKS wants its 12-point agenda implemented including declaring droughts in Maharashtra, MSP as promised, loan waiver without conditions and forest rights for tribals.
On the road to 2019 parliamentary elections, political parties have their eyes trained on this farmers' movement. Many opposition leaders were present at the convention, lending their support.
NCP supremo, Sharad Pawar has reached out to opposition parties to come together on the farmers' issue. Mr Pawar has already hit out at the BJP-led government, claiming that the focus is not farmers but the Ram Temple. Former Maharashtra chief minister and state Congress chief Ashok Chavan has also made similar claims.