Around 20,000 farmers and tribals from various parts of the State marched from Thane to Sion on Wednesday as part of a protest march organised by the Lok Sangharsh Morcha to voice their demands. The protesters will continue their march on Thursday, which will terminate at Azad Maidan.
The protesters include farmers, tribals and their wives and children. The march began in the morning, and local NGOs made arrangements for the women and children to be taken by vehicles to Shivaji Maidan in Chunabhatti, Sion. Sayeda Khan, a landless labourer from Muktai Nagar, said, “We are not given minimum prices for our produce or rights over land. We get ₹100 per day, if we find work. We do not get water to drink, let alone for irrigation.”
Usha Bombalkar, a protester from Warora, said, “Sometimes it feels like it is not worth coming here, spending ₹2,000 on transportation alone. But then, this is the only hope left for us as we are moving towards a more destitute condition. Our children cannot be educated, our family cannot be sustained and the government has to help us.”
Many NGOs like the Jai Ho Foundation and the Kisan Sangathan are helping the protesters with food and water as long as the march lasts. “They are not demanding anything illegitimate. It is their right and they should get it. They are humans and this basic fact must be respected. Division on the basis of ‘India’ representing urban India and ‘Bharat’ representing rural India must not be made and each should equally develop,” said Afroz Malik, president of Jai Ho Foundation.
Local residents and the police, too, helped with arrangements at the Shivaji Maidan, where the protesters will be spending the night. “We have arranged for lights, water tankers, mobile toilets and the entire area has been fogged to keep mosquitoes away,” local contractor Vijay Tendel said.
Several members of the Muslim community celebrated Milaad-un-Nabi by distributing food and water among the protesters. Ambulances and doctors, too, were kept on standby in case of any medical emergencies.
