The protesting farmers want to be paid more for their crops and are demanding the state government waive all farm loans AFP

MUMBAI: Tens of thousands of Indian farmers protested in Mumbai yesterday after walking more than a hundred kilometres to demand better crop prices and land rights. The farmers, wearing red caps and carrying red flags, arrived in the city following a six-day trek from Nashik, situated 165 kilometres north of India's financial capital.

Officials estimated that up to 30,000 demonstrators, including elderly women and young children, had gathered at Azad Maidan playing field in the south of Mumbai to press their demands. "We have made arrangements including setting up of emergency medical facilities and potable drinking water," Tanaji Kamble, a spokesman for Mumbai's civic authority said. The protesters want the state government of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital, to transfer forest land to tribal farmers who have been working it for years.- AFP