Maharashtra rains: Give immediate relief of Rs 50k per hectare to affected farmers, says Sapkal

Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Monday said the state government must provide immediate relief of Rs 50,000 per hectare to farmers affected by heavy rains.

Addressing a press conference here, Sapkal said unseasonal rains had destroyed crops in almost all regions, leaving cultivators in distress.

''Free seeds and fertilisers must also be supplied for the upcoming Rabi season. Neither Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis nor his ministers have spoken about aid for farmers,'' he said.

Sapkal alleged the ruling coalition had misused funds of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The civic body had deposits of Rs.90,000 crore but loans of Rs 1,300 crore were raised instead, he said while seeking a white paper on such financial dealings.

Sapkal also criticised Fadnavis over his remarks on the renaming of ''Shivajinagar'' metro station in Bengaluru after St Mary, alleging the chief minister misled the public and should apologise.

''Shivajinagar is a locality which has two metro stations. There is no proposal to change any name. But Fadnavis lied without verifying facts. Locals residing in Shivajinagar have never taken objection to the name,'' Sapkal claimed.

Sapkal also slammed former chief minister Ashok Chavan's statement about having suffered ''14-year exile'' in the Congress.

Asked about the statement, Sapkal said party workers keep wondering about the kind of exile Chavan experienced since he was made MLA, MP, minister, chief minister two times and Maharashtra Congress president.

''Party workers feel they would willingly take such an exile,'' Sapkal said mocking Chavan, who joined the ruling BJP from the Congress in February last year.

Sapkal also said the Congress would organise a job fair at Tilak Bhavan on September 16, which will see participation from over 40 companies in IT, banking, retail, healthcare, manufacturing and services sectors.

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