Nashik: About 10,000 farmers from across the district staged a protest march on Wednesday demanding government intervention to mitigate their drought woes.They have sought farm loan waiver and compensation of Rs 50,000 per hectare for drought-affected farmers. They also demanded proper planning for drinking water for the villagers and cattle. Farmers also sought implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations that suggest government intervention for proper implementation of minimum support price (MSP).Over 10,000 farmers, under the aegis of Maharashtra Rajya Kisan Sabha, took out a protest march from Golf Club ground in the city to the district collectorate to press for their demands. The delegation also met district collector Radhakrishnan B and handed over a memorandum of their various demands to him.“There is a drought-like situation across the district and the kharif crop has wilted. Moreover, rabi season has also been affected due to inadequate rains this year. The groundwater level has declined to a large extent and most wells have dried up,” said Sunil Malusare, senior member of the outfit.He added that most villages in the district have received less than 20% of the total average rainfall. “Farmers are facing a major problem about drinking water. Hence, we want the government to make proper arrangement for drinking water for the villagers and cattle,” he said.A memorandum submitted to the district collector also included their demands of cancellation of proposed west-flown river linking projects and instead sought diversion of water of Nar-Par Daman Ganga rivers through a tunnel or lifting it for North Maharashtra, Ahmednagar and Marathwada.

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