Latur, Sep 24 NCP (SP) workers blocked a key road in Maharashtra’s Latur district on Thursday, demanding immediate relief for farmers facing crop losses due to inadequate rainfall in the region.
The protesters spilled onto the Latur-Tuljapur highway at the Ausa junction. Poor rainfall has caused extensive damage to standing crops in Latur district, they said.
The NCP (SP) workers demanded that the government formally declare a drought and provide appropriate compensation to the affected farmers. It should also address the wider impact of the drought-like conditions in the district, they said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had on Wednesday described the drought-like situation in Latur and Dharashiv in the Marathwada region as “extremely serious”, saying the two districts received only half the normal rainfall this year. He promised all possible assistance to the affected farmers.
The two districts received only 50 per cent of rainfall this year, he said, warning of drinking water and fodder shortages later.
(PTI News)
