MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar appealed to the government on Saturday to implement different schemes to address the drought in the State. He also directed party workers to be ready to help the drought-affected people.
Sharad Pawar held a meeting with party workers in Mumbai, where he discussed the drought issue. Recently, Pawar had visited Solapur and Osmanabad districts to review the drought situation. After the meeting, Pawar spoke about the decisions taken in the meeting with the media.
Pawar also slammed the Central and the State governments over the drought preparedness.
He said that the seriousness of the drought is not being considered by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government has failed to take cognisance of the drought. Criticising Prime Minister Modi, the NCP Chief said that PM should have spoken about his government’s policy on the drought but he has not taken the drought seriously.
“There was low rainfall in many districts and the state is facing acute drought and hence, the shortage of drinking water. The government needs to tackle the issue on a priority basis,” he said.
“The government had delayed declaring the drought in the state. This clearly shows that the government is not serious about the issue. The prime minister did not speak about the drought in his campaign rallies. Instead, he kept targeting me,” Pawar said.
“We have decided to meet government officials and give a presentation about the solution. We will focus on the horticulture and stop the recovery of loans from the farmers,” he said. The government should emphasise on special measures to be taken to save horticulture farmers, he added.
Sharad Pawar also said that the government is providing Rs 90 to each farmer for cattle, which is not sufficient. He also demanded that special financial aid be given to the students pursuing higher education in drought-affected regions.
Sharad Pawar said during their regime, the NCP government had provided free meals to the students taking higher education in Marathwada. The government had waived their fees as well.
‘MAHAAGHADI WILL BE FORMED’
NCP Chief Sharad Pawar predicted that after May 23, Mahaaghadi will form the Central government. He said, “All the opposition parties will come together. Though all the opposition parties could not come together before the election, this will happen after the counting of the votes. In 2004, all the opposition parties came together after the election results and then formed a government. Same will happen this time,” he said.
NCP CHIEF SLAMS GOVT
Sharad Pawar alleged that the government’s attitude towards the Naxal-affected areas is the cause of the Naxal attacks in Gadchiroli. He slammed the PM and said, “The government should implement development-based programmes in Naxal-hit areas like Gadchiroli.”
