Beed: Lal Bawta Union Threatens Stir Over Pending Wages, Drought Aid

Beed: Highlighting the plight of the rural working class in the drought-hit district, the Lal Bawta Shetamajoor Union, affiliated with the Bharatiya Khet Mazdoor Union (BKMU), staged an agitation outside the Collectorate, demanding comprehensive financial relief and employment guarantees for landless farm labourers and Gairan (common grazing land) holders.

In a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) Minister Bharat Gogawale, and submitted through the Beed District Collector, the union expressed strong resentment over the state government's decision to announce a pre-Diwali advance of ₹5,000 exclusively for farmers. It alleged that landless labourers had been completely overlooked.

"The severe drought in Beed has hit the working class hard," the union stated in the memorandum. "While an advance was declared for landowners, landless farmhands and Gairan cultivators have been ignored despite being rightful citizens who deserve to live with dignity," it added.

The union's demands include a total drought relief grant of ₹25,000 for agricultural labourers, including an immediate pre-Diwali advance of ₹5,000; distribution of festive food kits (Anandacha Shidha) to all farmworkers and job-card holders; issuance of 7/12 land records to all Gairan holders cultivating the land; and regularisation of forest department workers who have completed five years of continuous service.

The agitation was led by union president Comrade Uddhav Mahanoor and secretary Comrade Namdev Chavan. A large number of landless labourers were present.