A representative image of buffalo.
Credit: iStock Photo
Palghar: In a dramatic protest that drew large crowds and prompted police intervention, a farmer placed his dead buffalo outside a nationalised bank in Maharashtra's Palghar district, demanding immediate insurance compensation.
After a bank officer assured that the compensation would be processed within a month, the farmer called off the protest on Saturday, which lasted for about 10 minutes, police said on Sunday. Videos of the protest showing the carcass lying outside the bank's entrance quickly went viral on social media, sparking debate about the delays in insurance claims that burden farmers with debt and losses.
Navsu Digha, a cattle rearer from Takpada village in the district, had purchased 10 milking buffaloes in 2022 by taking a loan of Rs 12 lakh from the bank's Mokhada branch.
Despite insuring the animals, he claimed that no compensation was paid for the two buffaloes that died over the past three years.
On Saturday, Digha arrived on a tractor carrying a buffalo carcass and parked the vehicle outside the local bank branch.
"Even after taking insurance for my buffaloes, I have not received a single rupee as compensation. Because of the bank's negligence, we farmers are being cheated," Digha claimed.
"If the money is not given soon, I will leave the dead buffalo here itself. Let the bank keep it until I am paid," he warned during the protest.
Local farmer leaders and political representatives joined the protest.
The police were immediately called in to manage the crowd and ensure order.
A senior officer from the bank intervened and issued a written assurance, stating that compensation for Digha and other affected farmers would be processed and disbursed within 31 days through the insurance company.
Following the assurance, Digha and other farmers suspended the agitation, and they vowed to resume the protest if the promise was not honoured.
Mokhada's assistant police inspector, Premnath Dhole, told PTI that after the bank gave a "written assurance", the situation was diffused and the farmer went back with his dead buffalo.