Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna (SSS) leader Raju Shetti on Sunday took out a 'padyatra' (foot march) in Kolhapur district, seeking loan waiver and other reliefs for farmers, who were hit by the recent floods in parts of western Maharashtra.
Shetti along with farmers and workers of his outfit took out the march from Prayag Chikhli village, where five rivers meet and become Panchganga river, to Nrusinhwadi. As Shetti had earlier warned of a 'jal samadhi' at Nrusinhwadi, the district administration had deployed lifeboats. Nevertheless, some members of the outfit jumped into the Panchganga, but were taken out safely by the police.
Speaking to PTI, Shetti said, "The state government, through the sub-divisional magistrate of Ichalkaranji circle, issued me a letter which said that we have been invited to Mumbai for a meeting with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at his official bungalow 'Varsha' on Monday."
The former MP said the meeting is scheduled to take place at 3 pm for which he would go to the state capital. Shetti had said the financial assistance being provided by the state government to the farmers was meagre, and demanded that farm loans be waived along with the school fees of children from such areas.
Published 05 September 2021, 18:38 IST