Latest news with #Shaktipeeth
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Farmers' protest against Shaktipeeth disrupts traffic on national highways
Kolhapur: Thousands of vehicles travelling on national highways in western Maharashtra and the Marathwada region experienced disruptions and were stranded for nearly three hours on Tuesday. The delay was caused by the chakka jam protest conducted by farmers under the banner of Shaktipeeth Highway Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti across 12 districts. The farmers opposed the proposed 802km Shaktipeeth project, which aims to connect Pawnar in Wardha district to Patra Devi in Sindhudurg district. The project is estimated to cost Rs 86,000 crore. The protest was led by farmers' leader Raju Shetti, former MLA Ruturaj Patil, and former MLA Raju Awale at Panchaganga bridge in Shiroli. Traffic on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway 48 at Panchaganga bridge in Shiroli, and the Nagpur-Ratnagiri National Highway 166 at Ankali Phata in Sangli district was affected by the protest. Protests also took place on the Kalyan-Nirmal National Highway 222 in Nanded, the Latur-Mumbai National Highway 548B, and in Hingoli, further impacting highway traffic. Despite the police earmarking alternative routes, many vehicles remained immobilised for nearly three hours. Nadgowda Vallari, a truck driver from Bengaluru, said he had been stuck near the Tawade hotel in Kolhapur for two and a half hours. "My truck is a four-axle truck with heavy industrial machinery on it. I can't think of entering small city roads," he said. Omkar Salunkhe, a traveller from Gandhinagar, said, "I wanted to travel merely 5km to reach Shiroli. The alternative route, via Kasba Bawda-Shiye, is nearly 18km long. Therefore, instead of taking the alternative route, I am stranded here waiting for the protest to conclude." A significant police presence was maintained at the protest sites. In Kolhapur, some protesting farmers attempted 'jalsamadhi' by jumping into the swollen Panchaganga river at Shiroli bridge, but were prevented by the police. Sushila Patil, a farmer from Kogil village in Kolhapur, said, "Govt is not allowing us to die, nor to live. If our farmland is acquired, how will we survive? What will we eat? My family of eight survives on our small piece of farmland. What will we do if all the farmland gets acquired for this project? If they (officials) come for land acquisition, we will teach them a lesson. We will die, but won't give our farmland." Police had issued a notice to Raju Shetti, urging him to refrain from reaching the protest site, but he did not comply. Shetti said, "Getting wet in the rain, farmers in large numbers are protesting against govt because they want to save their farmlands. The Shaktipeeth highway will further increase the severity of floods in Kolhapur and Sangli districts. CM Devendra Fadnavis, on July 6, will be coming to the Vitthal-Rukmini temple at Pandharpur for the Ashadi-Ekadashi puja. Before that, on July 4, the farmers will pray at Vitthal-Rukmini temple, requesting Lord Vitthal to give the CM some sense to cancel the Shaktipeeth project." Meanwhile, opposition party MLAs and MLCs protested in front of the legislative assembly on Tuesday, demanding the cancellation of the project. MLC Satej Patil, MLC Ambadas Danve, Jitendra Awhad, and others attended the event. Satej Patil addressed the issue during the monsoon session of the assembly, stating, "We are celebrating Agriculture Day on Tuesday. Farmers from all 12 districts have to come on the roads on the same day to save their farmlands. When there already is a Nagpur-Ratnagiri National Highway with only 25% traffic movement, why is there a need to construct another highway, destroying fertile land?" Satish Kulkarni, who heads the Nanded local action committee of farmers against the Shakitpeeth highway, said: "Around 300 farmers from Nanded distrcit will be affected. We all have well-irrigated agricultural lands that receive water from Upper Penganga and Purna dams. No govt compensation can cover our damage," he said. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Farmers demonstrate against land survey for Shaktipeeth expressway project
Farmers in various districts of Marathwada demonstrated on the streets on Tuesday (July 1, 2025) opposing the land survey for the proposed Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway project. Agitating farmers expressed concerns over the acquisition of their fertile land for the 802-kilometre greenfield, access-controlled, six-lane corridor that will connect central and western Maharashtra to Goa. The protests were renewed after the Maharashtra Cabinet on June 24 approved the acquisition of land for the project. Also Read | Maharashtra Cabinet clears ₹20,787 crore for Shaktipeeth Expressway amid farmers' opposition The expressway will pass through Nanded, Hingoli, Parbhani, Beed, Latur and Dharashiv districts in the Marathwada region, an official said. Farmers staged a sit-in protest on a road at Malegaon in Ardhapur taluka of Nanded district, vowing not to part with their land. "The government has ignored agriculturists while surveying for the Shaktipeeth project. We will oppose the survey," Nanded MP Ravindra Chavan told PTI. Also Read | Farmers march to Mumbai, demand scrapping of Shaktipeeth project Farmers sat on the Nanded-Washim Road in Hingoli district, briefly disrupting the vehicular traffic. "I am opposing this project as my orchard will be acquired, rendering me landless," a protester said. Another farmer said the compensation for the acquisition of land won't last forever. "I hold two acres of land which will be acquired for the expressway project. What's the use of compensation? It will not last forever. As a farmer, I am dependent on land", he said. Similar agitations were staged in parts of Beed and Dharashiv districts. Named after the revered Shakti Peethas or important Hindu pilgrimage sites, the expressway is envisioned to improve connectivity to religious sites and boost regional development. The expressway will link 18 major pilgrimage sites, including Shaktipeeths such as those dedicated to goddesses Renuka Devi in Mahur, Tulja Bhavani in Tuljapur, Mahalakshmi in Kolhapur, and Patradevi in Goa. Originating from Pavnar in Wardha district in eastern Maharashtra to Patradevi in Sindhudurg on the Maharashtra-Goa border, the expressway will pass through 12 districts.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Farmers from 12 districts to hold protest against Shaktipeeth Expressway on July 1
MUMBAI: With the state government approving the entire land acquisition cost for the Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway, farmers from 12 districts have decided to take a tough stand against the project with a simultaneous protest across all the districts on Krishi Din (Agriculture Day) on July 1. The decision was taken in the meeting of the action committee, also known as the Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Highway Virodhi Kruti Samiti. Mumbai, India- March 12, 2025: Thousands of farmers from 12 districts gathered at Azad Maidan to protest against the Nagpur to Goa Shaktipith Mahamarg. Mumbai, India March 12, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times) On Thursday, the Dharashiv district collectorate decided to suspend the survey for land acquisition after farmer leader Raju Shetti held a protest with affected farmers. He also met the district collector Keerthi Pujar and asked him not to hold the survey against the will of the farmers. Despite resistance from the agrarian community, the state government approved over ₹ 20,878 crore for completing the land acquisition process of the 802-km greenfield project that will connect Nagpur to Goa via Sindhudurg. The project requires 8,615 hectares of land, of which 8,141 hectares of land need to be acquired from private individuals, most of whom are farmers. 'We have decided to intensify our opposition to the project after the government decided to take the project forward at any cost. On July 1, all the farmers who will be losing their cultivated land will gather in their respective districts and oppose the project,' announced Satej Patil, Congress leader who has been opposing the project from the start. Patil is from Kolhapur, one of the 12 districts through which the expressway is expected to pass. Shetti alleged that the project would not just render farmers landless but was also financially unfeasible. 'The 700-km Pune-Bengaluru Expressway, which is also eight lanes, cost ₹ 50,000 crore, while the cost of the six-lane Shaktipeeth is pegged at ₹ 86,300 crore,' he said. 'This indicates corruption.'
