Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray will visit flood-affected Marathwada in central Maharashtra on Thursday, party leader and MP Sanjay Raut has announced. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Raut said other party leaders will also accompany Thackeray. A party functionary confirmed that Thackeray will first visit Latur on Thursday before proceeding to Dharashiv, Beed, Jalna, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Heavy rains have wreaked havoc across Marathwada. For the past four days, districts including Dharashiv, Beed, Jalna, Latur and Parbhani have witnessed incessant downpours, leaving farmlands under water and damaging the kharif crop. Following directions from the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at a recent cabinet meeting, ministers and MLAs have begun visiting affected areas, and assessment of the damage has started in every village.
“70 lakh acres of farming land have been destroyed in Marathwada region due to heavy rains, affecting 40 lakh farmers but Maharashtra Ministers are busy with politics,” said Raut during a press conference.
"The flood situation in Marathwada is serious. Crops on over 6 million acres have been washed away along with the damage; many generations cannot farm because of this. Shiv Sena party leader Uddhav Thackeray will visit the flood-affected Marathwada tomorrow (Thursday). The anger of 3.6 million farmers must reach the government," wrote Raut in a post on X tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi with photos of devastation in Marathwada.
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Thackeray will inspect the damage caused by the rains. He will be accompanied by MP Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena leader Ambadas Danve, and party strategist Milind Narvekar. The Shiv Sena UBT has demanded a relief package of Rs 10,000 crore from the Centre to support those affected in Marathwada.