Thousands of farmers and tribals who were marching towards Mumbai from Nashik district in North Maharashtra with a list of demands, including an immediate financial relief of Rs 600 per quintal to onion growers, called off their protest on Saturday after the government reportedly gave them assurances.
The protesters started their foot march from Dindori town in Nashik district, around 200km from Mumbai, on Sunday in support of their demands. They have also sought to arrest the sliding prices of other produce like soybean, cotton and tur (a type of pulse), along with immediate relief for farmers affected by unseasonal rain and other climate-related calamities.
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A 58-year-old participant in the long march died, an official said on Saturday. Pundalik Ambo Jadhav, a resident of a village near Dindori in Nashik, was taken to a hospital in Shahpur on Friday afternoon after he complained of uneasiness.
The station house officer at Vasind police station that a case of accidental death has been registered and Jadhav's body has been sent for a postmortem.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told the state Assembly on Friday that he had held discussions with a farmers' delegation over 14 points, including forest rights, encroachment of forest land, transfer of land belonging to temple trusts and grazing grounds to cultivators for farming.
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Appealing to the farmers to withdraw their long march, Shinde said the decisions taken will be implemented immediately. Onion growers, facing losses due to low prices of the commodity and damage to crops by unseasonal rains, will be given ₹ 350 per quintal as financial relief, he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
