Sharad Pawar demands immediate panchnama of crop damage, aid to Maha farmers

Pune, Sep 23 (IANS) Former Union Agriculture Minister and NCP(SP) President Sharad Pawar on Tuesday urged the Maharashtra government to quickly carry out 'panchnamas (ground assessment)' and provide financial assistance to the farmers following severe damage to crops, livestock and properties due to heavy rain and waterlogging in various districts.  

Pawar’s demand comes when the Kharif crops on over 26 lakh hectares of farm land across the state have perished. Farmers, especially from Solapur, Latur, Dharashiv, Jalna, Parbhani and Ahilya Nagar, have been hit badly.

“Heavy rainfall occurred in a district known for drought, which has had a huge impact on farmers. Soybean is a reliable crop, but due to waterlogging, it has rotted. The farmers are completely devastated. I have seen droughts, but I have never seen such heavy rainfall before,” said Pawar.

“During such a crisis, it is the responsibility of the state and Central governments to help farmers. The state government will have to immediately swing into action to conduct panchnamas and give compensation to the farmers. The Centre can also provide assistance to the states if there is a natural disaster. The state should seek the aid from the Centre apart from providing financial assistance from its kitty,” said Pawar.

He further stated that the government needs to provide compensation for the loss of crops, cattle and the land that has been completely washed away.

“If the crop is lost, there is a loss only for that year. But if the soil on the land is washed away, the crop production stops forever. Therefore, the assistance will have to be given for the crops and also for the land damaged due to waterlogging. Along with that, the roads have been destroyed, and aid will have to be given for that, too. There are complaints in many places, and cattle were washed away. The state government should look into all these things, and the government should do this work quickly,” he added.

Pawar called upon the state government to take the farmers into confidence while conducting the Panchnamas and the inspection of the damage to the crops. He reiterated that the government will have to urgently give aid to face the present crisis and also to revive in future during such unprecedented circumstances. “We expect the state government to consider this very seriously,” he noted.

Pawar said that the Meteorological Department has predicted rain for the next four days. “The special feature of this time is that whatever the Meteorological Department says, it is happening right from the beginning. It rained even in the month of May. Usually, there is no rain at that time. Since then, the Meteorological Department has warned the farmers, the government should take note of it and act accordingly,” he suggested. Meanwhile, the chorus is rising for the declaration of 'wet drought' in the state.

Congress legislators Vijay Wadettiwar and Amit Deshmukh, and the NCP(SP) legislator Rohit Pawar have demanded that the government should immediately declare wet drought and provide aid to the farmers who are in distress.

--IANS

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