Lockdown: Maharashtra farmers seek Thackeray's nod to access land (Representative image)
Farmers from the border areas of Maharashtra's Amravati district sought Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's permission to prepare their land for the upcoming Kharif season, as the current COVID-19 lockdown has prevented them from accessing their farms in Wardha.
The authorities at Wardha, Chandrapur, Amravati and Yavatmal districts have sealed their borders to contain the spread of coronavirus, as a result of which, farmers in the border areas have not been able to access their lands.
Farmers of Haturna village in Amravati district's Varud tehsil wrote to the Chief Minister seeking permission to access their farms in Wardha district's Salora, Wadhegaon, Jamgaon, Dhadi, Borgaon and Drugwada areas.
The local authorities had denied them permission to access their farms, which is why they were forced to write to the Chief Minister, said Baburao Meshram, one of the 55 famers who signed the letter to Thackeray.
"If we don't get access to our land, how will we cultivate? We are ready to follow all norms. The government should at least give us conditional permission," another cultivator Deepak Pohane said.
The district administrations have set up 98 check-posts at villages and 16 check-posts on highways to restrict the movement of vehicles and people, making it difficult for cultivators in these areas to inspect their land.
