Maharashtra: Drought-hit farmers block highway for two hours in Latur

Representational Image. File Pic

Several hundred farmers blocked the Latur-Ambejogai highway in Renapur tehsil in Latur on Monday afternoon protesting against the alleged delay in distributing drought subsidies and other relief measures, reported PTI. The block went on for two hours.

Renapur tehsil has been declared drought-affected. However, eligible persons are yet to get subsidies and other relief though Know Your Customer (KYC) details have been filled by all of them, Gajan Bolange of the Shetkari Sanghatana, which organised the protest, told reporters.

"More than 70 per cent eligible farmers have not received drought subsidies or other forms of relief. We want a clarification from the tehsildar on this. Authorities must ask the management of banks why this money has not been deposited into out accounts. We are also seeking 50-hectare crop insurance subsidy to help farmers," he said.

The farmers closed the gate of the Renapur tehsil office as part of a symbolic protest, while a sit down stir for two hours was held at Pimpalphata on the Latur-Ambejogai highway, Bolange said.

The outfit's contact chief Dattaji Shingde said a major stir will be held in the region if farmers don't get relief by June 20, adding that a memorandum of demands was submitted to nayab tehsildar Ugle.

Curfew in Manipur's Jiribam after protests over killing of man

After protests over the death of a 59-year-old man by suspected militants, the Manipur government declared an indefinite curfew in the Jiribam district, an official said on Friday. Following the recovery of Soibam Saratkumar Singh's body, some residents set fire to a few abandoned buildings, leading to the lifting of the prohibitory orders on Thursday night.

Following the man's death, residents staged protests on Friday morning, which kept the situation tense but under control. "There is the likelihood of widespread disturbance to peace and public tranquillity or riot or an affray because of unlawful activities of anti-social elements," the official said, citing the orders issued by the Office of District Magistrate Jiribam.

The local administration also prohibited "assembly of five persons or more, which is likely to turn unlawful, carrying of firearms, sticks... and movement of any person outside their respective residences within the revenue jurisdiction of the district". Singh vanished on Thursday morning after leaving for his farm, and a police officer reported that his body was later discovered with cuts from a sharp object.

In front of Jiribam Police Station, the locals had organised a protest, calling for restoring their legally owned firearms seized during the electoral process. The district's administration made a plea to the populace to keep calm.

To facilitate prompt communication between the district's security forces, a combined control centre with representatives from the Assam Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force, Manipur Police, and Indian Reserve Battalion has also been established. With a mixed ethnic population that includes Muslims, Kukis, Nagas, Meiteis, and non-Manipuris, Jiribam has not been impacted by the ethnic conflict that has been raging in Manipur since May of last year. Over 200 people have died and many more have become homeless as a result of the ethnic violence between the Meiteis, who live in the Imphal Valley, and the Kukis, who live in the highlands.