Maha: Thousands of farmers reach Mumbai for Jan 25 rally

Later, they continued their forward journeyin vehicles.The Kasara Ghat march and the vehicle convoy was ledby AIKS national president Ashok Dhawale, state presidentKisan Gujar and its state general secretary Ajit Nawale.On the way, hundreds of Centre of Indian Trade UnionsCITU-affiliated factory workers from Igatpuri and Shahapurtehsils welcomed the farmers by showering flowers.

Thousands of farmers from acrossMaharashtra reached Mumbai on Sunday evening to participate ina rally at the state capital on Monday against the Centre'sthree new farm laws.

Police have stepped up security at Azad Maidan, therally's venue in south Mumbai, and personnel of the StateReserve Police Force (SRPF) have also been deployed there.

Drones will also be used to keep an eye on the event, a policeofficial said.

The All India Kisan Sabha's (AIKS) Maharashtra unit ina statement said around 15,000 farmers had set out for thestate capital from Nashik on Saturday in several tempos andother vehicles.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar and some other prominentleaders of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the statewill address the rally on Monday, the release said.

The state Congress unit, which is an ally of the MVA,has already extended its support to the protest.

Farmers from various places had gathered in Nashik andstarted their journey towards Mumbai on Saturday. Manypeasants also joined on the way, the AIKS said.

They halted at Ghatandevi near Igatpuri hill town forovernight stay.

On Sunday morning, a number of farmers marched downthe Kasara Ghat to head for Mumbai, while many left invehicles.

Several women farmers took part in the seven-km longmarch at Kasara Ghat, which started at 9 am and ended byaround 11.30 am. Later, they continued their forward journeyin vehicles.

The Kasara Ghat march and the vehicle convoy was ledby AIKS national president Ashok Dhawale, state presidentKisan Gujar and its state general secretary Ajit Nawale.

On the way, hundreds of Centre of Indian Trade Unions(CITU)-affiliated factory workers from Igatpuri and Shahapurtehsils welcomed the farmers by showering flowers. At theKalyan-Bhiwandi crossroad, the farmers were welcomed andprovided food packets.

TheyenteredMumbai from Mulund check-naka, the entrypoint to the state capital from neighbouring Thane, and werewelcomed at Kannamwar Nagar in Vikhroli by hundreds of workersof the Left parties.

The farmers then proceeded towards the Azad Maidan,where the joint sit-in protest by the Samyukta Shetkari KamgarMorcha (SSKM) began this morning, and will continue till theRepublic Day.

''The rally is being held to support and expand thetwo-month-long farmers' struggle in Delhi for a repeal of thethree farm laws and for a central law to guarantee aremunerative Minimum Support Price (MSP) and procurement allover the country,'' the AIKS statement said.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, a pro-farmer body, hasgiven a nationwide call for a struggle from January 23 to 26,including rallies to Raj Bhavans (governor houses) in states.

Accordingly, over 100 organisations came together andformed the Samyukta Shetkari Kamgar Morcha (SSKM),Maharashtra, in a meeting held in Mumbai on January 12.

On January 25, there will be a public meeting at 11am, the release said.

Sharad Pawar, who was in Ahmednagar this morning, saidhe would take part in the rally on Monday.

Besides Pawar, state Congress president and revenueminister Balasaheb Thorat, and Shiv Sena leader and statetourism minister Aaditya Thackeray will also address therally, the AIKS statement said.

Later, the protesters will march to the Raj Bhavan andsubmit a memorandum to Governor B S Koshyari.

The main demands of the protesters include repeal ofthe three ''anti-farmer'' laws, and a central law guaranteeingremunerative MSP and procurement, the release said.

The protesters have also decided to hoist the nationalflag at the Azad Maidan on the occasion of the Republic day onJanuary 26, and take a pledge to make the struggle of peasantsand workers successful, it added.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up at the venueahead of the rally, a police official said.

Apart from personnel of the Mumbai Police, nineplatoons of the SRPF are being deployed at the Azad Maidan, hesaid, adding that drones will also be used.

Additional police force, including 100 officers and500 constables, will also be deployed at the venue, he added.

Enacted in September last year, the three laws havebeen projected by the Centre as major reforms in theagriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allowfarmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

However, the protesting farmers have expressed theirapprehension that the new laws would pave the way foreliminating the safety cushion of MSP and do away with the'mandi' (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercyof big corporates.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana andwestern Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several borderpoints of Delhi, demanding a repeal of the three farm laws.

Multiple rounds of talks between the government andfarmer unions have failed to break the impasse so far, whilethe Supreme Court has appointed a panel for resolution of theissue.