Farmers and activists from Vidarbha staged a protest outside the Nagpur district collectorate on Thursday, rejecting the Maharashtra government’s ₹5,000 assistance for drought-hit farmers and demanding compensation of ₹50,000 per acre without a landholding ceiling.
The agitation was organised by the Vidarbha Rajya Andolan Samiti and the Shetkari Sanghatana. Protesters held a symbolic alms-collection drive, gathering money and handing it to acting resident deputy collector Indira Choudhari. They requested that the collected amount be deposited in the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to underline their opposition to the government’s relief package.
The organisations submitted a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Along with the higher compensation demand, they sought a complete waiver of agricultural loans, citing crop losses, mounting debt and the wider distress facing farmers in the region.
The protest briefly escalated after police barricaded the collectorate entrance to prevent demonstrators from entering the premises, according to Mukesh Masurkar, president of the VRAS youth wing. After a heated exchange with police personnel, the protesters held an hour-long sit-in outside the gate. The demonstration disrupted vehicular movement, with visitors and vehicles reportedly queued outside the office.
The protesters attributed the damage to kharif crops to deficient rainfall across Vidarbha. They also raised concerns about fodder shortages and drinking water, warning that continuing water scarcity could affect the upcoming rabi sowing season. The organisations particularly highlighted conditions in Amravati division and Wardha district, where they said crop losses and debt had contributed to farmer suicides.
The memorandum included demands beyond immediate financial assistance. These included regularisation of encroachments on revenue land cultivated by farmers and distribution of land ownership documents. The groups also sought removal of the three-generation eligibility requirement for certain non-tribal forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act.
Another demand concerned compensation for families of farmers and agricultural labourers who die from snakebites. The protesters sought financial assistance on the lines of relief provided in other wildlife-related fatalities. The agitation continued with slogans criticising the government’s response to the agrarian crisis ahead of Diwali. The memorandum now places the compensation, loan waiver, land rights and relief demands before the state government for consideration.
