Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath said on Wednesday that the government would provide all possible assistance to rain-hit farmers in the state.
He was speaking to reporters after visiting flood-affected pockets in the Dharashiv district in the Marathwada region along with Shiv Sena leader Tanaji Sawant, according to the news agency PTI. During the tour, Shinde interacted with farmers and flood-affected people.
Unprecedented rains in the arid Marathwada, which comprises eight districts, over the past four days had claimed at least eight lives, marooned villages, damaged houses and flattened crops on more than 30,000 hectares, officials had said on Tuesday. Dharashiv is a part of the region.
As per PTI, Shinde said the government would help the farmers who have suffered losses due to the floods and recent torrential downpours.
The deputy CM said personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued people from flooded areas and airlifted several persons to safer places.
Parties should not indulge in politics and instead, come out to help all those affected, he said.
The Marathwada region had recorded 823.8 mm (28.5 per cent more) rainfall till Tuesday morning, against the average expected downpour of 640.8 mm for the period, according to officials.
Uddhav to visit flood-ravaged Marathwada on Thursday
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray will visit flood-affected areas in Marathwada on Thursday, party leader Sanjay Raut confirmed on Wednesday.
According to PTI, Raut said Thackeray will be accompanied by other senior party leaders during the tour of the rain-hit region.
According to a Sena (UBT) functionary, Thackeray will begin his visit from Latur and later travel to Dharashiv, Beed, Jalna, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to assess the damage and meet with affected residents.
Marathwada, located in central Maharashtra, has been reeling under the impact of unseasonal and heavy rains over the past few days, which have claimed lives, submerged villages, destroyed homes, and damaged thousands of hectares of standing crops.
As per PTI, unprecedented rains in the arid Marathwada, which comprises eight districts, over the past four days have claimed at least eight lives, marooned villages, damaged houses and flattened crops on more than 30,000 hectares, officials had said on Tuesday.
Raut claimed that the government can`t address farmers` woes as it is saddled with a debt of Rs 9 lakh crore. “This is why Thackeray has appealed to the Centre to assist with Rs 10,000 crore,” he said, reported PTI.
The Rajya Sabha MP said the loss is such that even the fertile layer of farms has been washed away.
Crops on nearly 70 lakh acres have been affected, while 40 lakh farmers have been hit, he said, adding that they have also lost cattle.
The government machinery may now have reached Dharashiv, the worst-affected district, but Sena (UBT) MP Omraje Nimbalkar and scores of party workers are already involved in relief work, said Raut.
(With PTI inputs)
