People from 35 coastal villages in Vasai, Thane district, began their long march to the Vidhan Bhavan on Sunday to press their long-standing demand for exclusion from the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation. Thousands of villagers, including farmers and fisherfolk, participated in the march on foot, which is set to last over three days, ending on the premises of the Maharashtra Assembly, currently in session.
Herds of goats and buffaloes also walked alongside the people, highlighting the agrarian aspect of their livelihood.
Assembly member Vivek Pandit of the Jan Andolan Samiti, who spearheaded the Andolan, told The Hindu that the government was dragging its feet despite a preliminary notification on keeping 35 villages out of the Corporation. “We are not asking for something new. In March 2010, the government announced its decision to exclude these villages on the floor of the Assembly. Then on April 5, 2010, it issued a preliminary notification to that effect. In the winter session, I had moved a call-attention motion seeking fulfilment of the government's commitment.”
In a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, dated April 13, he demanded the final notification.
The villages want the exclusion of the Corporation to resist the consequent rapid urbanisation of their rural ecology, livelihood and ethos.
Speaking on the “participation” of cattle, Mr. Pandit said: “It's their question too. If buildings are erected by the Corporation, where will they go? Where will the buffaloes graze?”
Bullock and pony carts and models of huts nestled among trees were put on display.
A protester dressed as a demon, sported the placard, “The devil of Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation is coming.”
“If the Corporation comes, we will be wiped out,” said a rice farmer from Machipdada village, who did not wish to be named.
The Andolan began in 2006 when the government decided to include 53 villages in the civic body. In October 2006, 49 of the 53 villages opposed the move.
