Shinde prays for drought-hit farmers at Tembhi Naka Navratri, assures state and Centre will help

Amid the Navratri festivities at Tembhi Naka in Thane, prayers were offered before the goddess this year for Baliraja, as farmers are called. Praying that the crisis facing drought-hit farmers in Maharashtra be lifted, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde assured them that the state government would stand firmly with farmers in this difficult hour. He also said substantial help would come from the Central government as well.

Shinde appealed to Navratri mandals to set aside some savings from their festival expenses for drought-hit farmers and thus fulfil their social responsibility.

The arrival ceremony of Maa Durgeshwari of the Shri Jai Ambe Maa Sarvajanik Navratrotsav Mandal at Tembhi Naka was held today with great enthusiasm. A grand procession was taken out with dhol-tashe, lezim, tal-mridang, Koli dance, Gondhal dance, Adivasi tarpa dance and other traditional art forms. The deity was then consecrated after rituals at the pandal at Tembhi Naka.

According to Shinde, a Central team has already inspected the drought-hit areas, and a review meeting on the matter was held today under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister. He said he had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when they also discussed Maharashtra's drought and the questions facing farmers in detail. Shinde said Modi had assured that the Central government would also extend large-scale support.

Shinde made it clear that the demand to declare a drought had been met. According to him, families caught in the crisis would be given the necessary help along with concessions and compensation for losses.

He also called the weddings already fixed for farmers' daughters a serious issue, and said the Shiv Sena had taken up this responsibility through mass marriage ceremonies. Shinde said the distribution of bicycles to daughters of 25,000 farmer families in Marathwada and sewing machines to 25,000 women had begun from Parbhani.

In view of the drought, the mandal run by MP Dr Shrikant Shinde has decided to celebrate Navratri simply this year. The savings from the festival will go to substantial help for farmers. Shinde appealed to other mandals too to save something and come forward to help farmers. He pledged, "We will not let Baliraja's Diwali go dark."

The Tembhi Naka Navratri festival, which began with the inspiration of the late Dharmaveer Anand Dighe, is in its 48th year. This time a replica of the Shri Badrinath temple of Uttarakhand has been built. Lakhs of devotees from Mumbai, Thane and Palghar come here for darshan every year. Devotees believe the goddess fulfils vows and rushes to answer a call.

As every year, Thane Police gave the goddess a salute. Thane Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre and other senior Thane Police officers took part.

MP Naresh Mhaske, MLA Ravindra Phatak, Thane city chief Hemant Pawar, Thane Mayor Sharmila Pimpolkar, group leader Pawan Kadam, senior corporator Sudhir Kokate, Shiv Sena state organisation chief Anand Paranjpe, Shiv Sena spokesperson Rahul Londhe, Kamlesh Chavan, Nikhil Budjade, Jackie Bhoir, Swanand Pawar, Kiran Nakti, Bala Gavas, Amit Jaiswal and a large number of the party's office-bearers and workers were present.