Centre assures help to farmers in Rajasthan

JAIPUR: The Centre today assured all assistance to farmers affected by severe damage to their crops caused by the incessant rains and hailstorm in parts of the state.

"The Rajasthan chief minister (Vasundhara Raje) has expressed her concern for the losses to the farmers and requested the Centre to provide maximum possible help." Rajnath told reporters on the sidelines of a conference here.

"I have asked her to complete the state's report about the losses and forward it to Centre at the earliest so that the requested steps can be taken," he said.

Meanwhile, Raje said that she will be visiting Kota and Ajmer regions of state to take stock of the current situation and will also talk to the farmers.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the chief ministers should start providing help to farmers of the their respective states and that the Centre would also intervene wherever necessary.

Raje also said that all the MLAs are visiting their respective constituencies since the last two days and she will review their reports and suggestions so that the ground-level situation can be assessed.

The incessant rains and hailstorms earlier this week hit the farmers hard, who suffered extensive losses to crops and livestock as well.

Over 24 people were also killed in rain-related incidents and several houses suffered damage after the sudden change in weather conditions caused by Western disturbances.