Maha Elgar Morcha: All about the protest that crippled traffic on Nagpur-Hyderabad highway

Prahar Janshakti Party chief Bachchu Kadu

Thousands of protesters led by former Maharashtra minister Bachchu Kadu are participating in the 'Maha Elgar Morcha' in the busy Nagpur-Hyderabad National Highway near Jamtha, bringing a halt to vehicular traffic in the busy passageway. The blockade prompted the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court to urgently take suo motu cognisance of the matter on Wednesday.

The Kadu-led Maha Elgar Morcha, a tractor rally from Amravati to Nagpur, thousands of farmers demanding a total loan waiver, guaranteed minimum support prices and soybean procurement through NAFED. The procession reached the outskirts of Nagpur at around 3.30 pm on Tuesday, where the police stopped it near the Cotton Research Institute. Protesters said they had brought food supplies sufficient for 15 days and would not move until their demands were fulfilled.

Kadu, who is leading a massive protest for farm loan waiver, on Wednesday evening said they will vacate the national highway and move to a nearby ground, and he will decide the future course of action after meeting Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday. The development came after the Bombay High Court directed the protesters, who had blocked National Highway 44 near Nagpur city, to leave the site by 6 pm, and ministers Pankaj Bhoyar and Ashish Jaiswal subsequently held discussions with the protestors.

The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued an order directing that the farmers protesting over the loan waiver vacate the protest site by 6 PM today. Justice Rajneesh Vyas passed the order while hearing a suo motu petition. The court noted that permission for the protest was granted only for 24 hours.

After hectic talks between the ministers and the protesting farmers led by Kadu, farmer leader Raju Shetti and Kadu told the media and the farmers that they will vacate the highway (also called Nagpur -Wardha road) and shift to a ground nearby. The future course of the agitation will be decided after meeting chief minister Fadnavis in Mumbai on Thursday, he added.

Speaking to the media late Wednesday evening, Bacchu Kadu said, "I have spoken to the Chief Minister over the phone. The government has talked about debt relief, but hasn't given a date. Tomorrow, we will meet with the Chief Minister to set a date. Until then, the protest will continue. Now, we will continue our protest at the previously designated venue (ground). If the chief minister doesn't take a decision in our favour, we will stop the trains."

Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis appealed to Kadu to discuss farmers' issues with the government, instead of holding agitations that inconvenience the public and may be exploited by "vested interests". Fadnavis was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Pune, a day after former state minister Kadu led a tractor rally in Nagpur, seeking a complete loan waiver for farmers and listing a host of other demands.