Nashik:
A 58-year-old participant who joined a march of thousands of farmers and tribes from Nashik district in North Maharashtra state to Mumbai has 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 complaining of feeling unwell. After feeling better, Jadhav returned to where the protesters were camped out, the official said.
Thousands of farmers and tribes marched 200 kilometers from Dindoori on Sunday in support of their demands. It has reached the town of Vasind in Thane district, about 80 kilometers from Mumbai. Their demands include a relief of Rs 600 per quintal to onion growers, 12-hour uninterrupted power supply to growers and waiving of agricultural loans.
After dinner at about 8pm on Friday night, Jadhav started throwing up and began to feel uneasy. He was rushed to Shahapur Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead, the official said.
Police station officers at the Vasind Police Station said a case of accidental death had been registered and Jadhav’s body had been sent for post-mortem.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told the state assembly on Friday that he had discussed with the farmers’ delegation on 14 points, including forest rights, encroachment of forest land, transfer of land and pastures belonging to temple trusts to cultivators for cultivation.
Shinde called on the peasants to withdraw from the Long March and said that the decision already made would be implemented immediately.
He said onion growers will get financial relief of Rs 350 per quintal due to low commodity prices and crop losses due to erratic rains.
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from syndicated feeds.)
