Maharashtra: Farmer protest turns violent, first strike since 1933

The farmers' strike in western India's Maharashtra turned violent on Thursday with protesters damaging vehicles and stopping supply of vegetables, milk, andother farm produce to Mumbai, India's financial capital, and other major cities.

The police had to resort tobatonchargeand firing teargas shells to disperse the unruly mob.

The violence, however,was mostly limited to theprosperous districts of western Maharashtra. The farmershave calledfor an indefinite strike and refused toroll back their protest unless the state government accedes to their demands.

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This is the first time since 1933 that farmers in the state have gone on a strike. The 1933 strike that sparked off from thearableKonkan region of the statecontinued for more than a decade.

The farmer'smovementoperating under a joint body,KisanKrantiMorcha,is demanding 100per cent loan waiver for all farmers, higher government rates for produce like wheat, sugarcane,vegetables andmilk,implementationof the Swaminathan Committee recommendations, a pension scheme for farmers, 100 per cent subsidy for irrigation tools andRs50 rate for milk.

The state government on its part does not seem equipped to meet thedemands.Acomplete loan waiver for allfarmerswill cost the Maharashtra treasuryRupees305 billion(USD4.73 billion). The demand comes on the heels of the USD5.6 billionfarming loan waiver for the northern state of Uttar Pradesh as promised by the rulingBharatiyaJanata Party in its state poll manifesto.

Maharashtra chief minister (CM) DevendraFadnavisreportedly assured the farmersthat he will try to work out a formula for waiving loans, but added that it will take some time.

"We had a sit-in protest by farmers fromneighbouringdistrictsonMay28 when state ministerSadabhauKhottook some of our representatives to meet the CM. He told us it will take two months to figure out how much loan can actually be waived. The farmers rejected this since the state has been reeling under drought past few years,"AvinashChavan, who is adoctor as well as a farmer fromPuntambavillage, 15 km from the temple town ofShirdi, told WION

The initial idea of a "farmers'strike" was arrived upon inPuntamba, says Chavan.

"The Minimum Support Price government has fixed for acquiring agriculturalproduceis too low.Farmersin my village,Puntamba(15 km from the famous pilgrimage ofShirdi), decided to go on a strike. If everybody else can go on a strike for better wages, so can farmers," added Chavan.

Chavansaid the decision to go on astrikewas taken ina Gram Sabha (village body) meeting held on April 1. Inthe initial stage,some 50 villages joined in. "By May 1, many other villages joined in the protest. Now the strike is on all over Maharashtra," he added.

Newsagency Reuters reported that trucks carrying vegetables and milk tankers werevandalisedfor ignoring the strike call. Incidents of violence were reported fromKopargaonin Ahmednagar district,SataraandKolhapur. However, this was hardly an exception as Reuters reported. Violence was also reported from Nashikdistrict.

However, some others say this is an attempt by prosperous farmers to piggyback on the poor and get some freebies from the government.

"The farmers who really need loan waiver in Maharashtra areactuallya very small number. Those small farmers who still depend on rain for irrigation don’t really getloans from government banks or any other private lending body. Some rich farmers from western Maharashtraare driving this movement. Three of them are fromPuntamba. One of them withdrew from the movement after the meeting with the CM since he foresaw violence. This protest is no longer under thecontrol of the originalorganisers,"Madhav Ojha, a Marathijournalist based inPuntambatold WION.

Ojha said western Maharashtra farmers growing grapes and pomegranate have recorded losses because of poor and unseasonal rainfall.

According to local farmers, the MSP for wheat in 2016 wasRs2400-2500 per quintal, while in 2017 it is betweenRs1400-1500 per quintal. The government has cited over-production as a reason behind low acquisition prices. "Sugarcane has an MSP ofRs2100-2200 per quintal in Maharashtra, while in Gujarat the current rate isRs3500,"saidChavan.

(WION)