MUMBAI, Jan. 23 -- A two-day protest by farmers, tribals and fisherfolk outside the Palghar collectorate was called off on Thursday after the district administration accepted several local-level demands. However, the agitation over state-level issues will continue until the state government addresses the remaining demands, organisers of the protest said. More than 10,000 protesters from the tribal areas of Palghar and Nashik districts had marched to the Palghar collectorate to press for their 12 long-pending demands. The protest was led by the CPI(M) and the Kisan Sabha. Palghar district collector Induran Jakhar held talks with a delegation of protest leaders, including CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Ashok Dhawale, MLA Vinod Nikole and CPI(M) district secretary Kiran Gahla. Following the meeting, the district administration agreed to resolve several local issues within a fixed timeline. According to the organisers, the collector assured time-bound action to address difficulties in implementing the Forest Rights Act and announced a programme to transfer barren and benami land in the names of cultivators. A committee headed by the district collector, with five representatives from the CPI(M) and the Kisan Sabha, has been constituted to oversee the process. During the discussions, the administration also handed over a draft of a proposed state law on Devasthan Inam lands to the Kisan Sabha, with the state government expected to enact the legislation. However, demands related to the implementation of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) and the proposed Vadhavan and Murbe ports in the Thane-Palghar region remain unresolved. While the PESA-related matter is pending before the Supreme Court, a final decision on the proposed ports rests with the Maharashtra government, the organisers of the protests said. The district collector issued a written assurance outlining the agreed actions and timelines. Meanwhile, in Nashik district, farmers across several talukas have been holding indefinite sit-in road blockades for the past five days over demands largely linked to state policy. While suspending the gherao at the Palghar collectorate, the CPI(M) has decided to continue the agitation for state-level demands and in support of the Nashik farmers, Dhawale said....