Shiv Sainiks from Uddhav Thackeray group stage chakka jam

YAVATMAL: The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray group) staged a chakka jam (road blockade) on Thursday to press for their demand for cotton price of Rs10,000 per quintal.
The movement of traffic in all the 16 tehsils was badly affected. There were long queues of vehicles on both sides of the blockade spots. “We staged the road blockade on Thursday as announced by us earlier,” said district contact chief Santosh Dhawale.
The price of the cotton, soyabean, tur and gram should be fixed at Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and should be competitive for other crops, he demanded.
“The Central government is turing a blind eye towards hardships faced by farmers. The prices have been reduced deliberately and private players and touts are making a quick buck by lowering the prices of cotton and soyabean,” alleged Upa Zilla pramukh Pravin Pande.
Farmers are in a financial crisis due to the drought, untimely heavy rains and other nature’s wrath. “Everywhere there was a spontaneous response and we will intensify the agitation further if the government fails to accept our just demands,” said district chief Rajendra Gaikwad who led the agitation at Lohara Square. There was no untoward incident reported from across the district. The protest was total and successful, claimed the agitators.