Leader of opposition Eknath Shinde visits rain-hit Nashik farmers

Leader of opposition Eknath Shinde visited farmers affected by unseasonal rains in Nashik district on Friday demanded commensurate compensation for their loss.

Accompanied by Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam, Nashik city chief Ajay Boraste and other party leaders, Shinde visited some farms in the area of Pimpalgaon Baswant and took stock of the damage done by last week's rains. He spoke to the farmers and understood their problems.

Speaking to the media later, Shinde said the loss to agriculture and farmers is tremendous. "The prevalent crop insurance scheme is insufficient and its terms and conditions need to be reassessed. The present scheme does not benefit the farmers who are affected by crop damage," Shinde observed.

He also demanded that compensation to farmers be increased from the present up to Rs 25,000 to up to Rs 1 lakh. "Fruit crops like grapes and pomegranates that have high production cost must get compensation of Rs 1 lakh per acre, irrigated crops Rs 50,000 and non-irrigated Rs 25,000," he said.