Nagpur: The state Congress party has formed a team of senior leaders, including former ministers, MLAs, and MLCs, to visit each of the 34 districts affected by unseasonal rains and hailstorms over the past few days. The aim is to assess the extent of the damage and provide assistance to distressed farmers, reported The Times of India.
As per government estimates, the unseasonal rains have caused widespread damage to major crops like sugarcane, cotton, tur, soybean, potato, paddy, grapes, mango, pomegranate, papaya, banana, wheat, and orange. Over one lakh hectares of farmland have been affected.
Prominent Congress leaders, including opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar, former chief ministers Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan, and Balasaheb Thorat, have been tasked with visiting the affected areas and submitting their findings to the party office.
On Tuesday, MPCC president Nana Patole and Wadettiwar demanded compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre for non-irrigated crops and Rs 50,000 per acre for irrigated crops. Patole has written a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in this regard, while Wadettiwar has demanded a complete farm loan waiver.
In a statement, the party urged the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP (Ajit Pawar) government to immediately provide aid to distressed farmers without conducting unnecessary surveys or administrative formalities.
Patole, in his letter, highlighted the plight of farmers, stating, “The Kharif season was affected due to a prolonged dry spell, while erratic weather and unseasonal rains have caused damage in the Rabi season. Farmers have lost an entire year of crops. Nearly 17 districts have reported large-scale agricultural losses, while others, especially Vidarbha, Marathwada, and North Maharashtra, have been hit by untimely rain. In districts like Pune, Ahmednagar, and Nashik, hailstorms have caused huge damage to fruit orchards and vegetable produce as well.”
