Mumbai Farmers from Puntamba village in Ahmednagar district have decided to postpone their protest temporarily after the visit of agriculture minister Dada Bhuse.
The minister had sought time from the farmers for discussions, while deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar also agreed to hold a joint meeting of a farmers’ delegation along with all the concerned ministers and secretaries in Mumbai on June 7. Pawar also requested them to postpone the agitation until then, which was accepted by the farmers.
The state agriculture minister visited Puntamba on Saturday and had a three-hour discussion over demands raised by the farmers. Bhuse assured that the state government will try to resolve all their issues, but since their demands are related to different departments, they need time to discuss.
The deputy chief minister also had a telephonic interaction with the protesting farmers, where he requested them to come for a joint meeting in Mumbai on June 7. He further said that they could resume their protest after Tuesday’s meeting, if not convinced.
Dhananjay Dhanwate, sarpanch of Puntamba village, said that they decided to postpone the protest until next Tuesday and after meeting with the state government, they will again hold a gram sabha meeting a day later (on Wednesday) to decide their next step.
“The agriculture minister said that demands raised by us are related to six departments and sought some days for preparations. Ajit Dada also requested us to come on Tuesday for a joint meeting with concerned ministers and secretaries after which he said we can make our own decision,” Dhanwate told Hindustan Times.
He further added, “We clearly told them (Ajit Pawar and Dada Bhuse) that the decision of agitation was taken by the gram sabha, thus, they won’t be able to promise anything and can inform about their decision only after holding another gram sabha meeting on Wednesday.”
The farmers were protesting for legislation which will ensure a minimum support price (MSP) for all their agricultural produce. They have sought a complete waiver of electricity bills, a 10-hour power supply during the day, and a grant of ₹2 lakh per hectare to those sugarcane farmers whose stock is yet to be crushed among other demands. It was decided in a special ‘gram sabha’ meeting held at Puntamba village on May 23.
Puntamba is the same village that declared a farmers’ strike which was joined by ryots across the state, forcing the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis government to declare a loan waiver package in 2017.
