Farmer dies during foot march from Maharashtra's Nashik to Mumbai

A 58-year-old farmer who participated in the long foot march of farmers from Dindori in Maharashtra's Nashik to Mumbai died on Friday night at Shahapur police station in Thane district, informed the All India Kisan Sabha state general secretary Ajit Nawale.

Pundalik Jadhav, a resident of a village near Dindori in Nashik, was taken to a hospital in Shahpur on Friday where he died during treatment. The exact reason for his death is yet to be ascertained.

Nawale held the government responsible for the delay in taking a decision on the demands of the farmers, due to which the farmers are still forced to sit in Shahpur.

The farmers demanded compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of the deceased farmer.

In order to draw attention of the government to a 17-point charter demand, thousands of farmers had begun a march from Dindori in Maharashtra's Nashik district on Sunday last and will cover 200 kms to reach Mumbai.

The demands include Minimum Support Price (MSP) for onions, the appropriate price for agricultural produce, electricity bill waiver for farmers, speedy compensation for crop losses due to the unseasonal rains, and forest land rights.

On Wednesday, State ministers Dada Bhuse and Atul Save held talks with a delegation of protesting farmers.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Dada Bhuse said, "We discussed 14 issues that they flagged. We accepted their positions and agreed to many of their demands. We held detailed discussions with them. We requested the CPI and the protesting farmers to meet CM and Dy CM at the Mantralaya."

Earlier, on Tuesday, Opposition parties in Maharashtra staged a protest on the stairs of Vidhan Bhawan demanding the resignation of Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Abdul Sattar over his remarks on farmers.

Sattar on Sunday sparked controversy with his remark on farmer suicides in the state.

The remarks drew flak from the Opposition, with leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) launching protests and demanding that Sattar step down in the wake of his remark that there was nothing new in farmers ending their lives and such incidents have been taking place for a long time.

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