As political campaign in Maharashtra comes to an end , the state is faced with the task of battling drought. Within an hour of casting his vote in Mumbai, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Monday kicked-off his drought tour to Solapur and Osmanabad districts.
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Mr. Pawar, the former Union agriculture minister, leaves for drought tour on a day when The Hindu exposed that State-run lender, Bank of Maharashtra, has decided not to extend loans in parts of Maharashtra such as Aurangabad, Latur, Akola, and Amravati, which are hit by drought. The bank cited high bad loans from agricultural advances in these zones for the decision.
Mr. Pawar has been campaigning extensively during the polls. “He held over 80 rallies across the state in this election campaign and toured the entire State. He felt it was important to visit the drought affected regions as the State government is failing to provide much-needed relief. It doesn’t matter whether elections are over or not. He will continue doing his job,” said NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik.
As per government data, the total water storage in all government dams on April 27 was around 19.63% of the total capacity as against 32.6% in 2018. Aurangabad, which covers the entire Marathwada region is facing the worst situation in the State with only 5.27% water storage in its dams as compared to 30.46% last year.
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