Maharashtra to Restore Power Supply of Farmers Whose Connections Were Cut Due to Unpaid Bills

Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister and minister of energy in Maharashtra, intervened to restore the electric connections of farmers whose supply had been cut off because they had unpaid bills. The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) confirmed the news on Sunday.

According to reports, Fadnavis has ordered the power company to halt disconnecting farmers' power connections while taking into account the harm that heavy rains have done to the agricultural sector in the state.

Vijay Singhal, the chairman and managing director of the power company, has reportedly asked all the officers and workers at MSEDCL not to disconnect farmers' energy connections.

If reports are to be believed, more than 1,000 of these connections were terminated in the Pune region up until November. Amid loss to farming in the state due to the unseasoned rainfall, field officials have been instructed by the administration to be prepared to replace damaged and burned agricultural equipment as well as to supply agricultural pumps with a steady power supply.

Faulty transformers are being replaced while the electrical connections for agricultural pumps in the districts of Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, and Kolhapur are being evaluated, in order to provide extended support to crop producers of these regions.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated AIIMS Nagpur institute to the country on Sunday during his visit to Maharashtra.

The hospital was built as part of the central sector initiative Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, whose foundation stone was also laid by PM Modi also in July 2017. According to a statement issued by the government, the dedication of AIIMS Nagpur to the country would strengthen the Prime Minister's commitment to improving the nation's health infrastructure.

The medical facility was constructed at a colossal expense of more than Rs 1575 crore and includes state-of-the-art amenities, OPD, IPD, diagnostic services, operating rooms, and 38 departments covering all major specialist and super specialty fields of medical science. Gadchiroli, Gondia, and Melghat, three local tribal settlements, will benefit from the facility, while it will also give the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra access to cutting-edge medical resources.

Apart from PM Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, State Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari were also present at the event.