Nagpur: Hundreds of farmers from Karanja-Ghadge in Wardha district on Thursday staged a road blockade at Nara T-point on Amravati-Nagpur national highway, protesting the taluka’s exclusion from the state’s drought-affected list. They demanded immediate relief for farmers facing crop losses due to deficient rainfall.The agitation, led by NCP (SP) MP Amar Kale, brought traffic on the highway to a standstill for some time, with long queues of vehicles building up on both sides. Farmers were joined by Swarajya Shetkari Sanghatana’s Jai Belkhede and members of various social organisations. Police reinforcements were called from Wardha in view of the gathering, and traffic was diverted/regulated to restore movement.Farmers said despite Karanja experiencing inadequate rainfall and mounting crop losses, the taluka was not included in the state govt’s Sept 25 notification covering 265 drought-affected talukas. They said farmers have incurred substantial cultivation costs but have faced little prospect of recovery because of rainfall deficit.Besides Karanja’s inclusion in Trigger-1 of the drought-relief mechanism, the protesters also sought Rs1 crore compensation for families of farmers killed in tiger attacks, a blanket loan waiver and immediate opening of fodder depots for cattle in Karanja taluka.The protesters, including women farmers, sat on the highway and raised slogans against the govt. MP Kale alleged that the govt and administration had ignored the farmers’ pending demands despite repeated representations.Naib tehsildar PK Atram reached the spot and accepted a memorandum from protesters in the presence of sub-divisional officer Vinayak Patil.
