Nashik: The tribal farmers’ long foot march from Nashik to Mumbai entered its third consecutive day on Tuesday, with thousands of marchers crossing Kasara Ghat and stepping into Thane district. Later in the evening, a delegation, which included senior CPM politician Ashok Dhawale and former MLA Jeeva Gavit, along with other functionaries of Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha, met CM Devendra Fadnavis at his residence.Ajit Nawale, a Kisan Sabha functionary, said the CM assured them that all demands agreed upon will be implemented. “He promised that at the ministerial level, continuous follow-ups will be done to ensure there are no gaps or lapses.” Nawale said the delegation was told all forest rights claims filed under Forest Rights Act will be re-verified. “Due to the forest department’s incorrect reports, discrepancies had increased between land declared eligible for title and land under actual possession.” The decision on calling off the stir, however, will only be taken after talks with other agitators on Wednesday. In the first two days of the march, the farmers covered nearly 60km. A delegation travelled ahead to Mumbai for a meeting with state ministers. Water resources minister Girish Mahajan held the first round of discussions on Tuesday. Delegation members later described that meeting as futile.
