Maharashtra farmers storm state govt office over land acquisition money

MUMBAI: After breaching the security cordon, a protesting group of farmers from Morshi from Vidarbha region jumped from the second floor of Mantralaya building — the administrative headquarters of Maharashtra govt in Mumbai — to safety nets set up on its first floor, demanding justice and compensation for the land acquired for the Upper Wardha irrigation project.

Farmers from Morshi have been protesting for the last 103 days to draw the attention of the government. On Tuesday, they came to  Mantralaya and jumped from the second floor. Police rushed in to pull them away and were later detained.

The videos and photos of farmers jumping immediately went viral on social media. Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde said that he has discussed this issue with the department concerned and secretaries and in the next 10-15 days the issue of these protesting farmers will be resolved.

Farmers in the pamphlet demanded the project-affected should be given compensation with interest against their land that was acquired for the development of the Upper Wardha irrigations project besides the equal size of the land should be also given at different places.

“The project affected farmers’ children should be given jobs in government and semi-government departments. The government should talk with the farmers, otherwise, they will intensify the protest in the coming days,” threatened the farmers.

Earlier, protesters had breached the security, entered Mantralaya and tried to end their lives by leaping from top floors. The government has installed safety nets on the first floor of the main Mantralaya building as a precautionary measure to prevent any suicide attempts.