Centre, Maharashtra govt assure relief after floods lash state

Uddhav Thackeray thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for calling and assuring support

Amid the worst downpour and chain of landslides to hit the west coast in the past several decades, the Centre and Maharashtra government on Sunday assured all the necessary help and wherewithal to rebuild flood-affected areas and extend immediate and long-term relief to the people.

The impact of four days of incessant rainfall in the coastal Konkan belt and western Maharashtra is still being felt with normal life completely thrown out of gear in half-a-dozen districts along the Sahyadri ranges of Western Ghats.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for calling him, assuring support and putting multiple agencies on the job.

“The Army, Navy, Air Force is on the job, the NDRF and Coast Guard is working 24x7…the SDRF and other state government and district agencies are working round-the-clock,” Thackeray told reporters in flood-affected Chiplun town of Ratnagiri District.

Asked whether he will seek any package from the Centre, Thackeray said that for two consecutive days on Saturday and Sunday he had visited the Konkan region and will visit Western Maharashtra on Monday.

“Let me complete my on ground assessment…we will sit and put up a realistic demand (before the Centre)…because of Covid-19 pandemic, the economy is sluggish…we all know about it…we would need Centre’s help in long-term mitigation measures,” he said.

“Just for publicity I will not make any announcement now…there would be a complete review and what and how much is needed would be conveyed to the Centre,” Thackeray said.

However, till that time, the state government will continue to do its job and help out people in distress, he said, adding, that he has asked officials to ensure that “technical issues” do not come in the way of extending relief.

Meanwhile, Union MSMEs Minister Narayan Rane assured that the Centre will provide necessary help.

Rane, accompanied by former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Devendra Fadnavis and his counterpart in Council Pravin Dareker visited landslide-affected Taliye village of Raigad district.

“The Centre will surely help…the Prime Minister has asked me to visit (flood-affected areas) and in return (to New Delhi) submit a report,” said Rane, a former Chief Minister and ex-Leader of Opposition, who is known for his administrative capabilities.

“It is a difficult situation…Rane is a senior leader, he will table a report…definitely help will come from Centre,” said Fadnavis.

Asked why such a chain of tragedies happened, Rane said: “It is not time for blamegame…who would have ever thought that this hill will come down.”

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