There has been a wave of leaders visiting farmers in Maval since the agitation there against a water pipeline project led to police firing and the death of three farmers. But in spite of the best efforts of ruling party politicians to calm tempers the farmers are firm on their stand that they will not allow the project to go ahead, saying it does not matter whether three or 300 of their people are killed if it can prevent the laying of the pipeline.u00a0


It's an injustice: Baban Mhaske, ex-sarpanch of Shivne, says it is
gross injustice to lay a closed pipeline to provide pure water to
Pimpri-Chinchwad while leaving impure water for villagers. Pic/Kaumudi
Gurjar

The farmers believe that the killing of innocents was soon forgotten after Anna Hazare's national-level anti-corruption agitation took centrestage, and they feel frustrated about it. The families of the deceased Shyam Tupe, Moreshwar Sathe and Kantabai Thakar said they would join the agitation again without a thought and see to it that water is not transported in the enclosed pipeline.u00a0Shyamrao Gaikwad, president of Vandemataram Shetakari Sanghatana, said no enclosed pipeline would be allowed. "We demand that innocent farmers who died in the police firing be declared martyrs," Gaikwad said.