Farmers in tremendous distress due to rains but Maharashtra govt not helping them: Thorat

Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat on Monday said farmers have suffered tremendous losses due to heavy rains in May but the Maharashtra government is not providing any relief.

Instead of waiting for 'panchnamas' (spot damage/loss assessment), the state government must provide Rs 50,000 per hectare as financial aid to affected farmers, he said at a press conference here.

''Farmers are in dire straits. If they are in trouble, common citizens too will face hardships. There is unrest among farmers and the government must act. A farmer spends Rs 50,000 per acre for vegetable cultivation and nearly Rs 60,000 per acre for horticulture cultivation. Due to the rains, even fodder has been destroyed,'' he said.

Agriculture is not a profitable business and even the Re 1 crop insurance scheme for them has been stopped, and the state government has gone back on its commitment of loan waiver, he said.

''The administration is, however, nowhere to be seen on the ground. Guardian ministers must be touring districts to take stock of the situation but many districts don't have guardian ministers. If the chief minister says work doesn't stop in the absence of a guardian minister, then why have this post for districts,'' Thorat added.

Speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting in Nashik on Sunday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said ''guardian ministers come and go'' when asked about the district, which is set to host the Simhastha Kumbh Mela from next year, not having a guardian minister.

The state government will pay heavily for its neglect of agriculture and farmers, Thorat added.

When asked about his nephew and Independent MLC Satyajit Tambe's recent comments to a local digital channel challenging state leaders to get appointment with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in a hour's time, Thorat said the comments were ''childish''.

''One should be grateful if anyone has been helpful in life. One must never forget the favour. He needs to learn a lot in politics and must self introspect. If you have issues, one must learn to keep it in the heart,'' Thorat said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)