Thousands of tribals participating in Samvidhan Hakk Sangharsh Morcha halt outside Thane city
Police officials said over 7,000 farmers in 400 vehicles from more than 20 districts had joined the march. Highway traffic police temporarily diverted vehicles from the ghat section to the new Kasara ghat highway to minimise inconvenience to commuters. In another protest march, thousands of tribals from rural Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Nashik and Pune participated in Samvidhan Hakk Sangharsh Morcha led by Vivek Pandit of Shramjeevi Sanghatna demanding settlement of pending forest land claims, issuance of land titles to eligible tribals, acceptance of local evidence for birth registration, adequate drinking water facilities, quality education for children, among others. The protesters stopped outside Thane city while Sanghatna representatives separately met Fadnavis, along with his cabinet colleagues. The tribal protesters were likely to call off their march to Mantralaya following the meeting.
After reaching Igatpuri in Nashik district on Monday, the protesters proceeded through the old Kasara Ghat route towards Shahapur on Tuesday. Shinde was likely to address the protesters on the outskirts of Thane city late on Tuesday.