Uddhav Thackeray Announces Rs 10,000 Crore Aid For Flood-Hit People

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday announced Rs 10,000 crore financial assistance to the flood-hit people in the state, including farmers.

Speaking to reporters after holding a meeting with the key leaders of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on the issue, Mr Thackeray said that the assistance will be provided by Diwali.

Mr Thackeray also claimed that the Maharashtra government is yet to receive a total of around Rs 38,000 crore from the Centre.

"I don't like the word package, but we will give Rs 10,000 crore assistance...it will be used for different purposes," Mr Thackeray said.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also took part in the meeting held at the chief minister's official residence ''Varsha'' in Mumbai via video-conferencing.

Heavy rains and floods last week claimed several lives in Pune, Aurangabad and Konkan divisions, which also left crops on lakhs of hectares damaged.

Osmanabad, Latur, Solpaur, Nanded and Pandharpur (in Solapur) were among the worst-affected places, where crops like soybean, cotton and sugarcane were damaged on a large scale.