Netas' tours amid agri crunch panned

Mumbai: Many state ministers and officials are on foreign tours even as the farmers in Maharashtra are grappling with the tur dal crisis. Criticising the government, the opposition has termed this as insensitive.

Agriculture minister Pandurang Phundkar and food and civil supplies minister Girish Bapat’s visit to New Zealand, Australia and Singapore has come under the scanner, as the farmers are facing tur dal crisis.

While farmers continue to suffer, a few other ministers are soon going to undertake foreign tours. Women and child welfare minister Pankaja Munde would be going to London, finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar would visit Shimla and animal husbandry minister Mahadev Jankar will go to Russia for study tour.   

Speaking to The Asian Age, Mr Jankar said that he received invitations from the U.S. and Russia to learn about piggery, which he wants to encourage in Maharashtra. “There is a huge demand for pork in those countries, and they have asked us to supply it. I want to introduce some supplementary employment for farmers along with agriculture, and hence I am going to visit,” he said.

Principal secretary of urban development Nitin Karir, principal secretary of public works department Ashish Kumar Singh, GAD secretary Valsa Nair Singh, additional chief secretary of revenue department Medha Gadgil have gone to the U.S. for official work, the sources in the CMO said.

However, the Congress has termed these foreign tours as very insensitive.