Baramati (Maharashtra) [India], October 3 : Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said his party’s focus was on helping people affected by drought in Maharashtra, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Baramati on November 3.
“PM Modi will visit Baramati on November 3. Today, our whole attention is on helping those affected by drought,” Pawar said while speaking to reporters here.
Pawar’s remarks come amid concerns over the drought situation in parts of Maharashtra and demands for immediate relief measures for farmers, agricultural labourers and others affected by water and rainfall shortages.
Earlier on September 28, NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar had described the drought situation in Maharashtra as severe and claimed that it was worse than the drought of 1972. He had urged the state government to announce immediate assistance for farmers and agricultural labourers.
Rohit Pawar had also demanded a halt to debt recovery and a complete loan waiver for farmers affected by the drought. He further sought a complete waiver of farmers’ electricity bills if no concession was provided, as well as a waiver of school fees for students in drought-affected areas.
He had also called for direct financial assistance for farmers owning livestock, including cows, bulls, sheep and goats.
Questioning the government’s drought-relief policy, Rohit Pawar had referred to differing statements attributed to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan.
“The Chief Minister says we will help immediately, but Minister Girish Mahajan says we will help according to the policy. So what is the policy?” he had said.
According to figures cited by Rohit Pawar, Maharashtra had recorded an overall rainfall deficit of 20 per cent as of September 27. He said rainfall was 40 per cent below normal in June, while July recorded 110 per cent rainfall. August witnessed a 51 per cent deficit, followed by a 49 per cent deficit in September.
He also highlighted rainfall deficits in several divisions, including 34 per cent in Nashik and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 32 per cent in Pune, 25 per cent in Nagpur and 9.8 per cent in Konkan.
Rohit Pawar claimed that farmers had incurred expenditure of around Rs 95,500 crore from their own pockets and could have earned around Rs 1.28 lakh crore if they had received better prices for their produce.
He had also interacted with farmers from different parts of Maharashtra through video conference as part of his presentation on the drought situation.