Thane Sees Intense Protest by Tribal Farmers Against ‘Looting, Destroying’ of Crops

Around 1,000 adivasi peasant women and men under the banner of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) marched to the Thane District Collector's Office last week-end in the heart of Thane city. They blocked the main roads outside the Collector's Office for an hour to the consternation of the rattled police force.

The Rasta Roko stir was withdrawn only when the collector met the AIKS delegation on October 23, and conceded its main demands. The adivasi peasants had come from Thane city and from Shahapur tehsil in Thane district. 

On October 19, some forest department officials had, without any notice, allegedly destroyed and looted rice, tur and nagli crops that were ready for harvesting. The crops belonged to several sdivasi peasant families who had been cultivating the land in Yeoor Hills for the past several years. 

According to the tribals, the forest officials had been constantly troubling the peasants ever since sowing began in June. The peasants then approached the AIKS for help, whose leaders met the forest officials concerned and warned them, pointing out that these were coronavirus times and all the peasant women and men had lost whatever little work they used to have. Their only source of subsistence was crops that they had been growing here for several years. In spite of this, the “callous and corrupt” forest officials destroyed all the crops that were on the point of being harvested, the tribal alleged.

As it is, heavy unseasonal rains in Maharashtra in October have destroyed a large part of the paddy crop in Shahapur tehsil.

The AIKS organised a joint protest of tribal peasants of the both areas. The Shahapur peasants expressed solidarity with the peasants from Thane city. 

After discussions, Thane Collector Rajesh Narvekar  conceded the following demands, as per AIKS.

1. Since the peasants had lost all their crops, they would be given adequate compensation and 10 kg of grain per head for six months on humanitarian grounds. 

2. The Collector would call a joint meeting of the AIKS and the forest officials as part of an inquiry into the ‘condemnable’ acts of the forest department.

3. The destruction of crops due to unseasonal rains in Shahapur tehsil would be surveyed and compensation would be given to them soon as per the state government directives. 

4. Due to the severe problem of unemployment, MNREGA (rural job guarantee) works would be started in a big way in Shahapur tehsil. 

5. Directives would be given to the zilla parishad to include the names of the peasants from Shahapur tehsil who have been left out in the PM Gharkul (House) Scheme. 

AIKS national president Ashok Dhawale and Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator Vinod Nikole led the protest. Nikole assured the tribal peasants that he would the issue in the next session of the Maharashtra State Assembly.