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Thane politicos join hands to help farmer wives stay

United by drought: Their stall served authentic Maharashtrian food like zunka-bhakar, bharli vangi, thaalipeeth, among others at Gaodevi ground

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Swati Chavan and Nalini Gaikwad at their stall on Tuesday
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After offering temporary rehabilitation to drought-affected farmers, politicians in Thane came together to help two farmer wives, who had set up a food stall at Gaodevi ground and were asked to leave by the organisers of Amba Mahotsav.

In mid-April Kamal Pardeshi (55) from Dound, Pune had come to participate in an exhibition at the same venue. She helped these two women, Swati Chavan and Nalini Gaikwad from Shiroor and Pune, respectively to set up a food stall at the exhibition.

"As these women are from drought-affected areas we wanted to help them earn some money. And even they did not want donations or charity as they are from good families caught in bad times," said Pardeshi.

The stalls which offered authentic Maharashtrian food like zunka-bhakar, bharli vangi, thaalipeeth, among others, was set up on April 16 and received a good response from visitors. However, the Aamba (mango) Mahotsav which started at Gaodevi grounds from May 1 became a problem for them. "On April 2, some people came to us and asked to empty our stall and leave," said Pardeshi, without naming anyone. "They also disconnected our electricity," she added.

These women — who cooked during the day and sleep in the same stall at night — were suddenly going to lose their temporary livelihood. This forced Pardeshi to seek help and on Wednesday the issue was resolved.

The stall was visited by Thane mayor Sanjay More, NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) MLA (member of legislative party) Jitendra Awhad and MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) city president Avinash Jadhav.

"We do not know who asked them to leave, but we have asked them to be careful while cooking as the mangoes are kept in hay stacks and wooden boxes. They can carry on with their work while being cautious," said Mahesh Vinerkar from Thane MP (member of parliament) Sanjay Kelkar's office. Kelkar is the president of Sanskar NGO which is one of the organisers of Aamba Mahotsav.

Kamal Pardeshi said that the matter has been resolved amicably. "The electricity has been restored and we will be here till May 22," she said.

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