Pawar Again Criticises Maharashtra Governor

Ahmednagar: Union Agricultural Minister Sharad Pawar Sunday renewed his criticism of Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan for not doing enough for the drought-prone areas in the state. Pawar alleged that the drought-prone western Maharashtra had not received the required aid as it was being channelised to other regions. Earlier this month, he slammed the governor for not touring the drought-prone districts to verify the ground situation before announcing the budgetary allocation for irrigation and water projects for the year. Around nine drought-hit districts are facing water scarcity. Nearly 7,555 villages in western Maharashtra, Marathwada and North Maharashtra have been affected. "Maharashtra is the only state in the country where the governor has been given powers to allocate this budget in a bid to make up for the backlog to backward regions of the Vidarbha and Marathwada (regions)," Pawar said while on a visit to Ahmednagar district and surrounding areas. "However, it seems that western Maharashtra has not got the required allocation for irrigation and water projects. The governor should also announce relief packages for the drought-hit regions, including western Maharashtra, which is being ignored," he added. Pawar said that now that Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had also visited the drought-prone regions of the state, the governor should pay more attention to proper allocation of irrigation and relief packages. Pawar's visit to Shrirampur village in Ahmednagar district was marred by protests from onion and sugarcane farmers. Hundreds of farmers waved black flags as Pawar entered the village and demanded an increase in the minimum support prices. They criticised Pawar responsible for the rising food prices.