Nagpur: Raising slogans of ‘Jai Vidarbha’, farmers and activists of the Vidarbha Rajya Andolan Samiti (VRAS) and Shetkari Sanghatana staged a ‘Bheek Mango Andolan’ outside the district collectorate on Thursday, condemning the state govt’s ₹5,000 financial assistance to drought-hit farmers as a “cruel joke”.Carrying out a symbolic alms-collection drive, protesters gathered money and handed it over to acting resident deputy collector Indira Choudhari, requesting that the amount be deposited in the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund as a mark of protest against govt’s relief package.The organisations also submitted a memorandum addressed to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, demanding immediate financial assistance of ₹50,000 per acre for affected farmers, without any ceiling on landholding, alongside a complete waiver of agricultural loans.“The protest took a tense turn when police barricaded the entrance of the collectorate to prevent us from entering the premises. This led to a heated exchange between protesters and police personnel, following which we staged an hour-long sit-in outside the gate. Vehicular movement was disrupted, leaving visitors and vehicles queued up outside the office,” said Mukesh Masurkar, VRAS youth wing president.According to the protesters, deficient rainfall has severely affected kharif crops across Vidarbha, leaving farmers struggling with mounting debts, fodder shortages and drinking water concerns. They claimed that the prevailing water scarcity could also jeopardise the upcoming rabi sowing season.The organisations particularly highlighted the agrarian distress in Amravati division and Wardha district, claiming that mounting debt and crop losses have led to farmer suicides.Apart from financial relief, the memorandum demanded regularisation of encroachments on revenue land cultivated by farmers and distribution of land ownership documents. It also sought removal of the three-generation eligibility requirement for certain non-tribal forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act.Another demand concerned compensation for families of farmers and agricultural labourers who die from snakebites, with protesters seeking financial assistance on the lines of relief provided in other wildlife-related fatalities.Throughout the agitation, demonstrators raised slogans condemning govt for its failure to adequately address the agrarian crisis ahead of Diwali.VRAS vice-president Arun Kedar, eastern Vidarbha vice-president Sunil Chokhare, Shetkari Sanghatana Nagpur district president Shrikant Daulatkar and VRAS district president Prashant Nakhate were among those who participated in the protest.
