Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 1 July

Farmers in various districts of Marathwada demonstrated on the streets on Tuesday opposing the land survey for the proposed Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway project.

Agitating farmers expressed concerns over the acquisition of their fertile land for the 802-kilometre greenfield, access-controlled, six-lane corridor that will connect central and western Maharashtra to Goa.

The protests were renewed after the Maharashtra cabinet on 24 June approved the acquisition of land for the project.

The expressway will pass through Nanded, Hingoli, Parbhani, Beed, Latur, and Dharashiv districts in the Marathwada region, an official said.

Farmers staged a sit-in protest on a road at Malegaon in Ardhapur taluka of Nanded district, vowing not to part with their land.

"The government has ignored agriculturists while surveying for the Shaktipeeth project. We will oppose the survey," Nanded MP Ravindra Chavan told PTI.

Farmers sat on the Nanded-Washim Road in Hingoli district, briefly disrupting the vehicular traffic.

"I am opposing this project as my orchard will be acquired, rendering me landless," a protester said.

Another farmer said the compensation for the acquisition of land won't last forever.

"I hold two acres of land which will be acquired for the expressway project. What's the use of compensation? It will not last forever. As a farmer, I am dependent on land", he said.

Similar agitations were staged in parts of Beed and Dharashiv districts.

Named after the revered Shakti Peethas or important Hindu pilgrimage sites, the expressway is envisioned to improve connectivity to religious sites and boost regional development.

The expressway will link 18 major pilgrimage sites, including Shaktipeeths such as those dedicated to goddesses Renuka Devi in Mahur, Tulja Bhavani in Tuljapur, Mahalakshmi in Kolhapur, and Patradevi in Goa.

Originating from Pavnar in Wardha district in eastern Maharashtra to Patradevi in Sindhudurg on the Maharashtra-Goa border, the expressway will pass through 12 districts.