In a bid to help drought-affected people, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has decided to build check dams in Beed district in Marathwada region, which has been reeling under severe drought conditions.
The party will build these check dams with the help of funds raised by its corporators in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The corporators have donated Rs 3 lakh for this task.
“We have raised the funds from our own pockets and they will be used to build two check dams at upper Borkhed village in the Beed district. The total cost of this project is about Rs 5 lakh,” said MNS group leader Sandeep Deshpande in the BMC.
According to the MNS sources, party chief Raj Thackeray will visit drought-affected areas of Marathwada from April 20. The party has also decided to implement several relief measures like supplying water and distributing water tanks in villages there.
During the visit, the MNS general secretary Manoj Chavan will distribute 3,000-litre-capacity drinking water tanks in the drought-affected villages of Marathwada. The first batch of 25-30 water tanks will be distributed in Latur district, whereas another 40-50 tanks will be distributed in Beed district. In addition to this, a drinking water tanker will be ferried daily in the villages of Latur district till the month of June.
Mr Thackeray, at his party’s annual Gudi Padwa rally, had slammed the state government for its failure to tackle drought situation in Maharashtra. He had criticised chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over his claims of having constructed 33,000 wells in drought-hit Maharashtra. Questioning the CM’s claims, he had stated that he would like to see for himself where these wells were located.
The MNS, which has been largely hit by dissensions and large-scale desertions after its rout in the parliamentary and Assembly elections, has been trying desperately to recover its lost ground in the state by taking a strident posture on several issues.
