Mumbai, November 21: A long march is planned today by farmers affiliated to the Lok Sangharsh Morcha (LSM), which would begin from Thane toll naka and end at the Somaiya Ground in Mumbai's Sion. Traffic snarls are likely to be witnessed in the Mumbai-Thane stretch, particularly during the evening rush hours.

The protesting farmers have demanded land reforms -- including allocation of cultivable land for landless peasants and compensation for farm labourers -- implementation of the loan-waiver announced last year along with the Swaminathan Commission report. Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana Lodges FIR Against IMD For 'Duping' Farmers.

At Somaiya Ground, where the march would end today, the farmers would be camping overnight. A rally would be addressed by LSM tomorrow, with agrarian leaders from Left-affiliated organisations being expected to attend.

On Thursday, the protesting farmers under the aegis of Morcha would stage a march from the Somaiya Ground to Azad Maidan.

LSM chief Pratibha Shinde, who is coordinating the protest march, said the farmers will exercise maximum restraint and refrain from causing inconvenience to the citizens of Mumbai.

The agitation comes nearly eight months after nearly 35,000 farmers affiliated to the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) carried out a long march from Nashik to Mumbai, demanding loan-waiver and restructuring of MSP as per the Swaminathan Commission's recommendation.

The protest was called off after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had assured the Kisan Sabha of "accepting most of their demands". However, the AIKS recently charged the Maharashtra CM of fulfilling none of the demands raised by them.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 21, 2018 10:43 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).