Pune firing: Shock, depression and anger grip Maval villages

A day after three farmers, including a 45-year-old woman, were shot and killed in the police firing on the Pune-Mumbai expressway on Tuesday, panic, depression, shock and anger has gripped the people in Yelse, Shivane and Shivane-Sadawali villages of Maval taluka.

The three who were killed — Kantabai Ankush Thakar (45) of Yelse village, Moreshwar Sopan Sathe (40) of Shivane and Shayamrao Wagu Tupe (29) of Shivane-Sadawali were the sole earning members of the families. They had participated in the protest against the closed water pipeline project bringing the Pavana dam waters to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).

Kantabai, who used to work as a farmhand, used to earn Rs50 a day. Her husband and son are unemployed.  “Kantabai's son Nitin recently lost his job at a private firm. Her husband does not keep well and cannot work,” said Anjana Thakar, Kantabai’s sister-in-law. The Thakers cultivated  rice on their 20 gunthas of land.

Similar is the story of the Sathes. “Moreshwar used to drive a tractor for another farmer for Rs100 a day. He only had 20 gunthas of land and would cultivate rice,” said a relative, who did not wish to be named. He is survived by his wife Ranjana, son Akshay, 16, and daughter Lalita, 20. They are studying in standard X and XII respectively.

Shyamrao lived with his elder brothers Ramdas and Chintaman. “He had lost part of his one-and-a-half acre of land in the expressway project. Now what will the family do?” asked Maruti Deshmukh, a relative. “Now, his brothers will have to support his wife Hausabai and three-year-old son.”

Blaming deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who controls the PCMC, for the deaths, the incensed villagers told DNA that they would not stop their protests and would not allow the government to lift water from the Pavana dam which was needed for their farms. The villagers were angry that none of the prominent political leaders visited the families of the victims following the tragedy.

A protester, Vasant Barku Garade of Shivane village, said the villagers were listening to their leaders during the rasta roko protest on the expressway when police inspector MS Ingawale of Wadgaon Maval police station was seen dragging one of the protesters. This was when the mob got angry and started pelting stones on the police.

Villagers from Yelse said they felt terrorised as the police were picking up people in connection with the stone throwing incident. Rather than return home, the men were staying away out of fear.