Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his cabinet colleagues are visiting rural households to support farmers facing an agrarian crisis.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited Lohari Sawanga village in Nagpur on Saturday night to spend Diwali with farming families. According to the Hindustan Times, the Chief Minister visited the home of farmer Rambhau Balpande to understand the daily difficulties faced by those affected by the state's drought.
The Chief Minister and his cabinet members are spending the festival in rural areas to support farmers struggling with poor rainfall and El Niño conditions. These weather patterns have impacted crops such as soybean, cotton, and tur, while also causing concerns regarding water shortages and irrigation.
Fadnavis stated that while a quick fix for the drought does not exist, the government will offer every possible form of help. He noted that the initiative aims to keep the morale of the farming community high by showing that the government is standing with them.
During his visit, Fadnavis joined villagers in prayer at the Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj temple and ate a traditional meal at Balpande's home. He also held a discussion with approximately 100 villagers at the gram panchayat premises regarding agricultural distress and local issues.
On October 27, Fadnavis directed officials to transfer an advance drought relief of Rs 5,000 to the bank accounts of about 1.50 crore farmers within one week. The state government has set aside Rs 7,500 crore for this purpose and instructed that no deductions should be made by banks from these payments.
