Solapur, Sep 25 (IANS) Former minister and NCP-SP legislator Jayant Patil on Thursday demanded that the state government should provide a direct assistance of Rs 50,000 per acre to farmers affected damage caused due to heavy rain and floods in various parts of Maharashtra.

Patil, who was accompanied by former minister and party leader Harshvardhan Patil after inspecting the flood hit villages and interacting with the farmers, told reporters that today farmers are in crisis. He demanded the government to take immediate decisions and provide justice to the farmers, instead of just making announcements.

“The crop standing in the fields was destroyed. Farmers are watching their lives being destroyed with tears in their eyes. Instead of involving the farmers in the process of Panchnama and causing more mental torture, the right way is to provide immediate compensation. Therefore, a direct assistance of at least Rs 50,000 per acre should be provided immediately,” said Patil.

Patil further said that the current situation of the farmers in Madha taluka is quite serious. The farmers have been left heartbroken due to the heavy rains that have been going on for a few days. He expressed the feeling that the farmers were already burdened with debt, and the heavy rains have literally washed away the hard work of the farmers.

Meanwhile, NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule said that she met Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and informed him about the dire flood situation in Maharashtra and demanded that wet drought be declared by giving a complete loan waiver.

“The farmers in the state have suffered immense losses. In many places, the soil from the fields has been washed away, creating a risk of the land becoming barren. I told him that due to excessive rainfall, the crops have rotted in the fields. In this context, I made a strong demand to declare a wet drought in Maharashtra, to provide an economic package from the center for the farmers, and to grant them complete loan waiver. I demanded that farmers should get loans at zero or low interest rates to stand on their feet again, and that no pressure should be put on the farmers for their existing loans,” she said.

–IANS

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