They said officials would not be allowed to enter for land measurement for acquisition purpose, reports said.
Farmers were from Kolhapur, Solapur, Sangli, Sindhudurg, Yavatmal, Wardha, Beed, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Dharashiv and Latur.
The protest was held a day after Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said land acquisition for the project is underway. “Land acquisition process for the Maharashtra Shaktipeeth Highway, which stretches from Pavnar in Wardha district to Patradevi in Sindhudurg district is in progress,” he said.
Key highlights of Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway
- The 802-km greenfield expressway, touted to be India’a longest, aims to connect Pavnar in Wardha district to Patradevi in Sindhudurg district.
- The expressway is expected to cut travel time between Nagpur and Goa from 18-20 hours to 8-10 hours.
- It will pass through 11 districts: Wardha, Yavatmal, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani, Latur, Beed, Dharashiv, Solapur, Kolhapur, and Sindhudurg.
- It would also connect many pilgrimage destinations such as Sevagram, Karanja Lad, Mahur, Aundha Nagnath, Nanded’s Takht Sachkand, Gurdwara, Parli-Vaijnath, Ambajogai, Tuljapur, Pandharpur, Kunkeshwar, among others.
- The six-lane expressway will be built for ₹86,300 crore.
- The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will be the nodal agency for the mega project.
- The project was announced in the Budget 2024-25 but it was temporarily put on hold because of state elections in 2024.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-headed NCP (SP) along with farmers’ leader and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana founder Raju Shetti has backed the protestors by joining them at Azad Maidan.
