Statewide protest against Shaktipeeth highway on Feb 23

Kolhapur: An agitation against the Shaktipeeth highway will be held in every district of the state on Feb 23, and a round table conference will be held in Mumbai against the backdrop of the state Budget session, farmers' leaders and activists announced at an online meeting of the Shaktipeeth Highway Virodhi Samiti on Saturday.The online meeting of leaders and farmers from various districts was chaired by MLC Satej Patil, who is also Congress group leader in the legislative council. Participants said the meeting was held to decide the future direction of the agitation against the Nagpur-Goa Maharashtra Shaktipeeth highway project.Kolhapur MP Shahu Chhatrapati, former MP Raju Shetti, Sangli MP Vishal Patil, Dharashiv MLA Kailas Patil, Sangli MLA Vishwajeet Kadam, former MLA Ruturaj Patil, former MLA Rajesh Patil, coordinator of Shaktipeeth Highway Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti Girish Phonde, and other farmers opposing the project took part.Addressing the meeting, Satej Patil said, "Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis assured in the legislative council that Shaktipeeth would not be built without taking people into confidence, but now the CM has changed his position. This project of Rs 86,000 crore has already gone above Rs 1,00,000 crore. Every day, over 100 people are dying in road accidents in Maharashtra, and this amount should be spent on the existing roads to make them pothole-free. Farmers are requested that they should oppose the land mapping and pass a resolution in gram sabhas. A statewide agitation will be launched on Feb 23, and a firm stand against this highway will be taken in the legislature as well".Farmers' leader and former MP Raju Shetty condemned the incident in Parbhani and Latur. Shetty said, "Farmers took to the streets without any leadership, which clearly shows the opposition of locals to the Shaktipeeth Highway. A few people are spreading a false narrative that farmers will get huge compensation for land acquisition, giving examples of Surat-Chennai and Nagpur-Ratnagiri land acquisition. In reality, this is a state highway project implemented through privatisation. Farmers will suffer a lot, as this highway will further worsen flood scenarios in Kolhapur, Sangli, and even in Latur and Solapur districts".MLA Kailas Patil appealed to maintain the current stance, saying there should be strong opposition from every affected village.Committee coordinator Girish Phonde condemned the incident in Parbhani and said there was a need to stage a big protest against the Shaktipeeth, as the govt was imposing pressure on the police to carry out the land mapping inhumanely.President of the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha, Rajan Kshirsagar, said it was important that women farmers came forward without any leadership and warned the administration that they would not be allowed to set foot in the fields without giving notice.