Uddhav to visit flood-ravaged Marathwada on Thursday

Mumbai, Sep 24 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray will visit the flood-hit Marathwada in central Maharashtra on Thursday, party leader Sanjay Raut has said.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Raut said other party leaders will also visit the region.

A Sena (UBT) functionary said Thackeray will first visit Latur on Thursday and then proceed to Dharashiv, Beed, Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Unprecedented rains in the arid Marathwada, which comprises eight districts, over the past four days have claimed at least eight lives, marooned villages, damaged houses and flattened crops on more than 30,000 hectares, officials had said on Tuesday.

Raut claimed that the government can’t address farmers’ woes as it is saddled with a debt of Rs 9 lakh crore. “This is why Thackeray has appealed to the Centre to provide assistance of Rs 10,000 crore,” he said.

The Rajya Sabha MP said the loss is such that even the fertile layer of farms has been washed away.

Crops on nearly 70 lakh acres have been affected, while 40 lakh farmers have been hit, he said, adding that they have also lost cattle.

The government machinery may now have reached Dharashiv, the worst-affected district, but Sena (UBT) MP Omraje Nimbalkar and scores of party workers are already involved in relief work, said Raut. PTI PR NR