Mumbai, Nov 29 – Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Nana Patole on Tuesday demanded that the state government should give an immediate assistance of Rs 25,000 per acre for non-irrigated crops and Rs 50,000 per acre for irrigated crops to farmers whose crops were damaged due to recent unseasonal rains in some parts of the state.
In a letter addressed to state Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, he stated that unseasonal rains and hail storm that lashed around 17 districts in the state over last two or three days have caused immense losses to farmers as crops on over one lakh hectare area have been lost.
In view of the losses suffered by farmers, there is a need to provide immediate help without wasting time in carrying out surveys or other administrative work given their current situation, he said.
With the kharif season being affected due to long dry spell and the rabi season too has been wasted due to erratic weather and unseasonal rains, farmers have lost crops of an entire year, the MPCC chief pointed.
Nearly 17 districts of the state have reported large-scale agricultural losses, while other districts have also been hit by untimely rain, especially Vidarbha, Marathwada, Khandesh regions, he informed.
In districts like Pune, Ahmednagar and Nashik, hailstorm has had caused huge damage to orchards and vegetable gardens, he said.
In such a situation, there is an urgent need to lend a helping hand to farmers who are facing inflation on one hand and natural disasters on the other, he noted and demanded that the government should immediately announce assistance and help to farmers.
Also, farmers should get immediate compensation from crop insurance companies, Patole added.
