Baramati, Correspondent
Due to excessive rainfall, Vidarbha, Marathwada, and several parts of Maharashtra have suffered enormous damage. Farmers have faced unprecedented losses, and it is important to see what policy the government announces in this regard. Senior leader Sharad Pawar, while speaking to reporters, emphasized that farmers must be given immediate compensation.
Pawar said that preliminary reports suggest extensive damage to all types of crops. On behalf of the Nationalist Congress Party, MP Supriya Sule has also met Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, demanding additional assistance and a special relief package for the farmers.
While interacting with the media at his Govind Baug residence in Baramati, Pawar stated, “This calamity has pushed farmers into a severe crisis. The exact relief measures and compensation package to be announced by the state government will be crucial. Such a disaster has never occurred before, and hence, the government’s response will be significant. Farmers’ crops in many parts of Vidarbha and Marathwada have been washed away, breaking their backbone. In this backdrop, it is urgent to provide them financial relief and other necessary support.”
He further added that while Marathwada usually suffers from drought, this year’s excessive rains have brought a different kind of disaster. Some areas in Solapur and Satara have also reported damages, leaving farmers in deep distress again. Nearly half of the state’s cultivable land has been affected by floods and heavy rains. Though the state government does not yet have exact figures of the losses, available information suggests that nearly 70 lakh hectares of crops have been destroyed.
“This is a major crisis,” Pawar said, stressing that farmers must be given relief immediately, without delay.
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