Pune: Ramesh Chennithala, the Congress committee in-charge of Maharashtra, on Saturday criticised the BJP-led Mahayuti government in the state for its alleged failure to provide assistance to farmers in flood-hit regions of Marathwada, western and central Maharashtra.Chennithala highlighted the severe damage caused by devastating floods, stating that over 50 lakh hectares of agricultural land had been severely impacted and thousands of cattle lost their lives. Despite the extensive losses, the government was yet to announce any compensation, he said.The Congress leader iterated his party’s demand for an assistance package of Rs50,000 per hectare and expressed frustration over the government’s lack of communication regarding its support plans for farmers.Chennithala also demanded a complete loan waiver for farmers in the state, challenging the BJP to fulfil its pre-assembly poll promise. “Before the state assembly polls, the BJP promised a loan waiver. This is the right time to announce a loan waiver for the farmers who lost everything due to flooding. We want to know if the BJP will fulfil its promise of a loan waiver given to the state farmers,” he said during a media interaction.During his visit to the city to hold meetings with the party workers, Chennithala raised questions about chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi. He expressed disappointment over the CM reportedly discussing setting up of a steel plant in Gadchiroli instead of rasing the “grim situation of devastating floods” and the “farmers’ plights”.Chennithala alleged that the Centre had not extended any help to the state’s farmers and that no Union ministers had visited the flood-hit areas to review the situation. He questioned if PM Modi had plans to visit the affected regions during his forthcoming tour of the state.Chennithala said the Congress had dispatched teams to the flood-hit areas to assess the situation and provide assistance. “Many areas have faced unprecedented losses. Entire farms have washed away in rainwater. We will receive reports from our teams on the ground situation,” he added.
