Buldhana, Oct. 15 -- Farmer leader Ravikant Tupkar on Thursday strongly criticised the Maharashtra government's decision to provide Rs 5,000 in financial assistance to drought-hit farmers before Diwali, calling it a cruel joke and demanding compensation of Rs 1 lakh per hectare.
Tupkar said farmers incur expenses of nearly Rs 1 lakh per hectare on cultivation, making the government's proposed assistance grossly inadequate.
He warned that farmers would launch a massive agitation across the state if the government failed to provide adequate compensation for crop losses.
Rejecting the Rs 5,000 assistance, Tupkar questioned whether the government expected farmers to manage their households, repay loans and celebrate Diwali with such a meagre...