Pankaja Munde demands relief package for flood-hit Marathwada

Aurangabad, (PTI): BJP national Secretary Pankaja Munde on Thursday demanded that the Maharashtra government declare a relief package for the Marathwada region where heavy rains and floods wreaked havoc earlier this week.

She also took a swipe at NCP minister and her estranged cousin Dhananjay Munde for `not visiting’ his home district of Beed immediately.

”Immediate aid should be declared for Marathwada in the form of a package. It should not be limited to only farmers but cover the losses on account of land erosion, damaged roads and cattle deaths too,” she said, speaking to a Marathi news channel at Beed.

‘If relief is to be given immediately, the administration must move fast. The role of guardian ministers is to convey every small problem (from their respective districts) to the cabinet. But the guardian minister of Beed (Dhananjay Munde) went to meet farmers only after we reached the area,” she claimed.

NCP leaders were busy with their `Samvad yatras’ (outreach campaigns) when the region was reeling under heavy rains, she alleged.

Farmers have not got crop insurance or any other aid for the last two years, the BJP leader claimed.

”The administration can do ‘Najar Panchanama’ (preparation of loss estimate by inspecting the site) and give aid to farmers. Detailed surveys can be conducted later,” she said. (PTI)