A farmers’ protest demanding drought compensation of Rs1 lakh per hectare disrupted traffic on the Akola-Mangrulpir state highway in Washim district for nearly three and a half hours, with police detaining around 55 people, including Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Nitin Deshmukh, after protesters tried to enter the Samruddhi Mahamarg at the Selu Bazaar interchange.
The protest brought together farmers and Shiv Sena (UBT) workers from several Vidarbha districts. Police deployed more than 1,500 personnel from Washim, Akola and three other districts at the interchange, while drones were used to monitor the gathering and movement around the expressway access point.
According to the police, protesters repeatedly attempted to move towards the expressway despite barricades. The attempts led to heated exchanges and scuffles between the protesters and police. Deshmukh was detained and taken away in a police vehicle along with other demonstrators.
Washim additional superintendent of police Lata Fad told The Times of India that the protesters had been taken into custody and that the situation had been brought under control. The deployment was led by Washim superintendent of police Nitesh Khatmode-Patil and supervised by Akola superintendent of police Archit Chandak.
The organisers claimed that more than 5,000 farmers and Shiv Sena (UBT) workers from Akola, Washim, Yavatmal, Amravati and Buldhana districts had joined the protest. Deshmukh, however, alleged that police had stopped more than 10,000 farmers from reaching the protest site at different locations. He also alleged that food and drinking water arranged for nearly 15,000 participants had been prevented from reaching the gathering. These claims were made by Deshmukh and the organisers and were not independently established in the report.
The compensation demand follows concerns over drought-related distress among farmers. Deshmukh criticised the Rs5,000 assistance announced by the government, saying it was insufficient to provide meaningful relief. The protest also reflects the growing use of major transport corridors as pressure points in regional agitations, where blockades can quickly affect inter-district movement and access to an expressway.
The demonstration followed a farmers’ march in Akola on September 22. At that event, the party had warned that it would block the Samruddhi Mahamarg if the compensation demand was not accepted by October 5. After his detention, Deshmukh said the agitation would continue if the government did not accept the demand and warned that a future protest could block trains passing through Vidarbha.
