StatesMaharashtra
Fadnavis spends Diwali with drought-hit farmers in Nagpur's Lohari Sawanga
The Chief Minister stayed at a farmer's home, allowed borewells and announced an orange and sweet lime processing unit under MIHAN. Prime Minister Modi called the visit touching.
Key points
- Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis spent Diwali with farmers in Lohari Sawanga village, Nagpur district.
- He announced a processing facility for oranges and sweet limes under the MIHAN project.
- The state is depositing ₹5,000 in about 1.5 crore farmers' accounts for Diwali, he said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis spent Diwali on Sunday with farmers in Lohari Sawanga village in Nagpur district, staying at the home of Arunabai and Rambhau Balpande. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the gesture.
“Today, I had the good fortune to celebrate Diwali with fellow farmers,” Fadnavis wrote on X. At a village meeting held after a prayer gathering organised by the Gurudev Seva Mandal in the Gram Panchayat hall, he said: “This has been a year of challenges. The rains remained elusive until the very end.”
What he announced
Fadnavis heard farmers’ problems and discussed how to protect the rabi crop in a drought year. He said borewells could be dug wherever possible. For the Katol and Narkhed belt, known for oranges and sweet limes, he announced a major processing facility under the MIHAN project in Nagpur, meant to ease export difficulties that have hurt farm incomes.
The Chief Minister said the state had put ₹5,000 into the bank accounts of about 1.5 crore farmers so they could celebrate Diwali, with deposits still going on. He also cited the earlier farm loan waivers. The state treats the drought as a natural calamity, with crop losses and shortages of fodder and drinking water in parts of Maharashtra.
The Prime Minister’s reaction
Modi called the visit “very touching”. “It underlines the spirit of compassion with which the NDA Government in Maharashtra is working for the farmers,” he said.
Revenue Minister and Nagpur Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, MLAs Charansingh Thakur, Ashish Deshmukh and Rajiv Potdar, former MLA Sudhakar Kohale, District Collector Kumar Ashirwad and Zilla Parishad CEO Vinayak Mahamuni were present.