Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Oct 10 (IANS): Taking serious cognisance of the deficit rainfall during monsoon 2023 which is taking a toll on the agro-economy in Marathwada, the Maharashtra Congress on Tuesday urged Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to immediately declare a 'drought' in the parched region.

"The condition of many parts of Maharashtra which did not get adequate rains is a matter of concern, but Marathwada is particularly badly hit owing to low rainfall this year. There has been four-fold increase in farmlands suicides from this region. The government must immediately review the situation and declare a 'drought' here," Congress state President Nana Patole demanded.

He also called upon the state government to follow the high court orders and release the water from the upper part of the Jayakwadi Dam for relief to the farmers in the region.

Patole, along with Working President M. Arif Naseem Khan, former CM Ashok Chavan, ex-ministers and other senior leaders took a status review of the party's Marathwada Division here, comprising districts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Hingoli, Parbhani, Beed and Dharashiv.

The overall review included the prospects for the Congress in the Marathwada region in the next Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, whether the decisions of the Udaipur Congress Session were implemented or not, and to spread the party ideology among the masses, while taking up causes for the local people.