India bloc demands immediate aid for farmers

Kolhapur: Office-bearers of the India Bloc Alliance parties on Wednesday demanded immediate financial assistance of Rs50,000 per hectare for farmers severely affected by the heavy rainfall experienced in the last week.A delegation, led by MP Shahu Chhatrapati and Congress group leader in the Legislative Council MLC Satej Patil, submitted a written statement outlining their demands to district collector Amol Yedage on Wednesday evening. They emphasized the significant losses incurred by farmers due to the recent rainfall and called for an immediate assessment of the damages across Kolhapur district.Patil highlighted the extensive damage caused by the rainfall in Kolhapur district, affecting not only agricultural products but also houses, livestock, roads and other essential infrastructure. "These rains caused major damage to agricultural products, houses, animals, as well as roads and infrastructure. The standing crops of several farmers got damaged," Patil said. He urged govt to provide immediate financial assistance of Rs50,000 per hectare.Patil also pointed out that state govt has declared the recent bouts of rainfall as "state special natural disaster". This classification, he noted, allows for the utilization of up to 10% of the State Disaster Response Fund's annual grant to address the current crisis."It is possible to provide immediate assistance to the affected citizens in such a disaster. Accordingly, a demand was also made to conduct immediate panchanama of all the affected areas and other components of the district and provide financial assistance to the affected citizens," he said."Despite the farmers suffering huge losses, the CM is not seen interacting with them. Only politics is being discussed," Patil added.