Beed Farmers Stage 'Halgi Bajao' Protest Seeking Drought Declaration, Compensation

Beed: Demanding an immediate declaration of drought in Beed district, crop damage assessment and compensation, hundreds of farmers staged a massive ‘Halgi Bajao’ protest in front of the District Collector’s Office on Wednesday.

The protest was organised by the Shetkari Hakka Morcha under the leadership of Rajendra Amte. Farmers demanded that the government conduct panchnamas of crop losses, provide compensation of ₹40,000 per acre and immediately release pending crop insurance payments.

Farmers alleged that prolonged dry spells have severely affected the kharif season, with crops such as soybean, cotton and millet suffering extensive damage. Several farmers arrived at the Collector’s Office carrying dried soybean plants, damaged cotton and millet ears to highlight the severity of the situation.

The protesters raised slogans including “Declare drought immediately”, “Release crop insurance without delay” and “Long live farmers’ unity” as the sound of halgis echoed across the Collectorate premises.

According to the organisers, meetings had been held in several villages of Beed taluka over the past 15 to 20 days to mobilise farmers and create awareness about crop losses and their demands. Farmers from around 30 to 35 villages participated in Wednesday’s agitation.

Rajendra Amte, Dr Ganesh Dhawale and senior farmer leaders Sushila Morale, Balasaheb More, Ashok Yede, Dnyaneshwar Raut, Ramdhan Jamale, Kuldeep Karpe, Hanuman Ghodke, Raju Gayke, Khaja Pathan, Deepak Jadhav, Pradeep Ghumre, Baliram Mehetre, Machhindra Sathe, Shyam Pandhare, Khandu Gadekar, Dhananjay Sagar, Rohidas Maske, Musa Baig, Chand Baig, Rajabhau Salunkhe, Vikram Salunkhe, Vishnu Salunkhe, Suleman Pathan, Musa Pathan, Vikram Shinde, Dilip Shinde and Suresh Salunkhe, along with farmers from various villages, were present.

A significant number of women farmers also participated in the agitation.