By Bhagwan Parab

Copyright deccanchronicle

Mumbai: Calling heavy rains in Maharashtra ‘an unprecedented calamity,’ NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said that the disaster has not only destroyed crops but also resulted in the large-scale death of livestock. He urged the state government to prioritise relief and rehabilitation efforts.Criticising the state government, Pawar also said that frequent visits of ministers and other elected representatives to the affected areas divert the focus of the administration to fulfilling protocol obligations rather than conducting damage assessments and implementing relief measures.“The heavy rains in Maharashtra have caused huge losses to farmers. The scope of this unprecedented crisis is very large. Not only crops have been damaged in this disaster, but animals have also died on a large scale. The rains have not only affected the farmers but also small and big businesspersons, artisans and agricultural labourers in the villages. Overall, this disaster has hit the traditional Balutedar and backward communities in the villages,” said the veteran leader.Saying that there has been a huge shortage of fuel and food at the village level, Pawar said there is a need to speed up the public distribution system. “There is also a possibility of the outbreak of diseases and it is necessary to provide health facilities immediately,” he said.The former union minister raised the concern that the visit of ministers will result in delay in providing help to flood victims. “Due to the frequent visits by ministers and public representatives to meet the victims, the attention of government agencies has shifted to completing protocol obligations instead of conducting damage assessments (panchmana) and disaster relief work. Due to this, there is a risk of delay in conducting the assessments and halting the relief work,” he said.Pawar pointed out that during the 1993 Latur earthquake, he, as the head of the state, had stopped the visits of public representatives and also requested the Prime Minister and other leaders to postpone their visits to earthquake-hit areas so that the assessment and relief work are not hampered.Considering the scope of the farmers’ damage assessments, it is necessary to immediately call additional manpower and revenue, agriculture, irrigation and other government authorities from other districts to the disaster-hit areas so that the assessment of the damage can be done in time and proper relief work can begin, he added.