Narayan Rane assures all help from Center to flood ravaged Maharashtra, says not the time for playing politics

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Pune: Assuring the flood-hit people of Konkan and western Maharashtra of relief and rehabilitation from the Central and State government Union Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narayan Rane said that this crisis was not the time to indulge in politicking.  

Rane, along with former Chief Minister and BJP Leader of Opposition (LoP) Devendra Fadnavis visited landslide-hit Taliye in Raigad, said that he had been tasked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the situation and assured the homeless that their destroyed houses would be rebuilt through the PM Awas Yojana. 

“This is not the time to point fingers or make comparisons (between Maharashtra and Central governments) or play politics… All focus should only be on rescue and relief operations. We have come here to give succor to those whose livelihoods have been destroyed by floods and landslides. Presently, rescue teams are having a tough time to unearth the dead bodies…44 bodies have been dug out and almost the same number are feared missing. Some bodies have been found dispersed as far as two kilometers away. So, the priority now is to complete these operations,” Rane.

He has been recently appointed as the Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Rane further informed that the Prime Minister would be given detailed report of all damages suffered by people in the Konkan and western Maharashtra. 

“We will also try and ask the Centre to keep an NDRF team permanently stationed in the Konkan, which normally is prone to such disasters in the future,” Rane said.  

Remarking that NDRF, SDRF and other rescue teams along with local police and other administration officials were working hard on the ground, Rane said that more aid would be provided to the affected people if the official relief aid provided by the Centre and the State government fell short. 

“This is a truly unfortunate incident. Although the families of the victims have received assistance from the Centre and the State, it does not mean we will not help them further if this aid proves inadequate…those whose homes have been destroyed will be given good and solid houses through the PM Awas Yojana (PMAY). However, the only thing we can’t bring back are the dead,” he said.  

Rane further said that he had instructed the Raigad District Collector to ensure that survivors were rehabilitated as per their wishes and that an independent official be appointed to especially address their needs. 

Otherwise, a bitter critic of the Shiv Sena and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Rane showed considerable restraint during his tour, remarking that there would be all the time later to fix responsibility for the disaster. 

“Who could have thought of it (excess rain and landslides)? This is not the time to trade allegations… Later we can assess on whom to place the responsibility for these events,” he said. 

However, when questioned whether any minister from the ruling MVA government had spoken with him after the disaster, Rane could not resist taking a dig at the ruling government and Chief Minister Thackeray. 

 “People of the State government do not meet me nor do they talk with me…now that he (Chief Minister Thackeray) has received his discharge, he is finally moving out,” Rane quipped. 

He was referring to the oft repeated allegation by the BJP that the Chief Minister never moves out of his residence in Mumbai to survey during any natural calamity in recent times citing the pandemic as pretext.