Pune: Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said that divisional commissioners and collectors had been told to carry out panchnamas for kharif crops damaged by erratic rain in parts of Maharashtra, without waiting for govt directions.Pawar admitted that the state was getting inconsistent rainfall in different parts. “There are places where red or yellow alerts have been issued, but some districts have received comparatively less rain. Farmers in districts like Nandurbar, Dhule and Jalgaon are waiting for rain, but in some districts, heavy rain has damaged kharif crops,” he told reporters in Kolhapur.Opposition parties have demanded state govt’s intervention to provide relief to aggrieved farmers. Shiv Sena MP Omraje Nimbalkar, who visited affected agriculture fields in Bhoom and Washi tehsils of Dharashiv district on Friday, said he had taken up the issue of compensation with the agriculture and revenue departments.The deputy CM said that the rain in some places was good for kharif crops, but in some places, it caused destruction. “State govt is keeping a close watch on the situation. We have already told the divisional commissioners and collectors to start doing panchnamas of the damaged fields without waiting for govt’s directions. Our priority is to provide help to farmers,” he said.
