Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole on Friday alleged that the state government has been missing in action while the Marathwada region is reeling under a drought.
Patole was speaking to reporters after touring the drought-hit districts of Beed, Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in this central Maharashtra region.
Addressing the press conference, the Congress leader tried calling Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and claimed that he was unavailable on the phone.
"The government is missing in action when people are facing a drought in Marathwada. I tried telephoning the chief minister, but the call was not connected," he said.
The Mahayuti government of BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP has not implemented the proposed water grid scheme for the Marathwada region, he said.
"When the government can construct the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway by taking loans, why can't it do the same for the water grid project?" Patole asked.
"We will not keep the water grid scheme on paper (after coming to power). We will ensure that it benefits people," he said.
The Marathwada water grid aims to connect all irrigation projects in the region to overcome the perennial water crisis. It was conceived during the tenure of the Devendra Fadnavis government in the state between 2014 and 2019 and was then estimated to cost about ₹40,000 crore.
The state Congress chief further claimed that there was an artificial scarcity of seeds, and farmers were being charged higher rates.
"Farmers have complained that a bag of cotton seed, which costs ₹864, is being sold at ₹1,100. Cultivators were also made to purchase other fertilisers they don't need," he alleged.
Patole demanded that farmers should get ₹2 lakh per hectare aid for crop losses, and mulberry cultivation be included in the insurance scheme.
Meanwhile, a team led by senior Congress leader Naseem Khan visited drought-affected Shahapur, Murbad and Kasara tehsils of Thane.
Locals complained of a lack of water and patchy power supply, and people in the region were suffering immense hardships, he told reporters after the visit.
