Suri: The CPM in Birbhum has decided to take out four rallies covering a total of 200km on September 30.

The marches have been planned on the lines of long processions of 35,000 farmers by CPM's peasant wing n Maharashtra recently. The farmers covered 180km from Nashik to Mumbai in six days to demand proper implementation of the Maharashtra government's loan waiver scheme among other things.

The four marches in Birbhum will start on September 30 from Kantagoria in Nalhati, Dubrajpur, Rajnagar and Kotasur and will finally converge at Suri on October 2.

Hannan Mollah, the president of the All India Kisan Sabha , who led the Maharashtra long march, will inaugurate the longest procession of 84km - part of the 220km walkathon - in Birbhum. The 84km march will be from Kantagoria More in Nalhati to Suri.

The programme has been named Jago, Jagao, Egou (wake up, awake people and proceed).

"The title of the programme is enough to understand our goal. We need to awaken our workers, awaken rural people and only then can we go ahead. The programme is being designed along the lines of the Maharashtra march, which drew attention across the country," CPM state committee member Gautam Ghosh said.

Several CPM members said they were aware that repeating the Maharashtra performance in Birbhum would be easier said than done as the party lost its foothold and failed to file nominations in 80 per cent seats in the May panchayat polls.

CPM leaders also admitted that the situation had come to such a pass that party workers did not want to participate in political programmes any more. Even yesterday (Monday), there were only a handful people who came out in support of the bandh.

"Still, we want to hold this march as we think this is the best way to connect to our core, which is poor people involved in agriculture in rural areas," said Ghosh.

Birbhum is a district where the main occupation of over 60 per cent population is agriculture. CPM leaders in the district said they had realised that they had to move out to the rural pockets to stand by the poor people, many of whom were being wooed by the BJP. "In Birbhum, our party was based on the farmers and rural people but we have not been in touch with them for the past five years for which we lost our base in the rural areas," a CPM leader said.

CPM district committee secretary Manasa Hansda said: "We are organising such marches to reach out to the grassroots people and highlight our fight against the BJP and Trinamul. We also demand some agriculture work to be brought under the purview of 100 days' job guarantee scheme. We want to strengthen our base in the rural areas."