Baramati: NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Saturday expressed concerns about farmer suicides in Marathwada and Vidarbha and said the Centre should come up with a policy to help cultivators.

Pawar’s statement comes in the backdrop of the data released by the state relief and rehabilitation department that revealed that 2,635 farmers died by suicide in Maharashtra in 2024.

“The information which has come from Marathwada and Vidarbha is worrying. We will collect accurate data from different locations. The Centre should prepare a policy to help farmers,” he told reporters in Baramati.

On speculations about NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil crossing over to the Ajit Pawar-led party faction, the senior politician said Patil had already given his statement to the media.

Patil, the state president of NCP (SP), had earlier said nothing about him was certain, sparking the buzz that he could quit the party.

On Friday, Patil met the NCP (SP) chief at an event in Baramati and later said he was not upset and a wrong inference was taken from his statement.

The former Union agriculture minister said farming is witnessing a revolution, and artificial intelligence (AI) will soon be used in sugarcane cultivation.

“The AI technology can be used to boost the quality of sugarcane. Many sugar factories will take part in the AI farming process. A meeting is scheduled later in the day with some officials of sugar factories. A revolutionary decision will be made soon, and the use of AI in farming will begin soon,” he said.

Pawar further said that Beed, which has been in the news for the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, was once a peaceful district.

“The situation in Beed was never like this. It was once a peaceful district. As many as six people from my party were elected from Beed. However, some of them misused their power, and we are witnessing the consequences,” he said.

Mumbai, March 15: Mumbai Traffic Police launched a special campaign against those violating traffic rules on the occasion of Holi and Holika Dahan. 17,495 challans were issued in this campaign which ran for two days on March 13 and 14. The total recovery was Rs 1 crore 79 lakh 79 thousand 250. To ensure road safety during the festival, the police blocked major places in the city and took strict action against those breaking the rules.

Mumbai Police had issued guidelines for the people before Holi. It was warned that action would be taken under the Maharashtra Police Act if the rules were not followed.

In this campaign, special attention was kept on those areas where there was a possibility of traffic rules being broken. Special attention was given to violations like drunk driving, speeding, riding a bike without a helmet, carrying three passengers and breaking signals.

In two days, the traffic police caught many cases of violations. 4,949 cases of riding a bike without a helmet were reported, while action was taken against 183 people for drunk driving. 33 challans were registered for driving in the wrong direction, 992 challans for breaking the rules on one-way roads and 1,942 cases of breaking signals.

Apart from this, 425 cases of carrying three passengers and 826 people were fined for driving without a license.

Mumbai Traffic Police says that this campaign was run to maintain the safety of the people and road discipline. During the festival, ignoring the rules amid the crowd and excitement increases the risk of accidents, so strictness was necessary. The police appealed to the people to follow the rules in future, so that the roads remain safe and the festival can be enjoyed without any hassle.

Mumbai: After the gross mishandling of the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case of Beed, the Devendra Fadnavis government has come in for flak again for it failure to arrest all the accused involved in the harassment of the minor daughter of Union minister for sports and youth affairs and BJP leader Raksha Khadse.

On February 28, Khadse’s daughter had gone to the annual Sant Muktai jatra or fair at Muktainagar in Jalgaon district along with her friends. Raksha Khadse was in Gujarat on that day on official work. The girls were stalked, eve teased and their videos taken by a gang of seven men. Even the presence of a policeman deputed by the minister did not deter the men. In fact, the gang manhandled the policeman.

The following day when her daughter complained to her about the shocking incident, Khadse personally went to Muktainagar police station and lodged a complaint. After that four men, including one Aniket Ghui, were arrested. Apparently the gang has been stalking and harrassing girls going to their schools and complaints to the police were not acted upon. Some of the accused allegedly have criminal antecedents.

What is shocking is that even after two weeks of the incident, three of the accused are still absconding. Incidentally, Krishna Andhale, the prime accused in the Santosh Deshmukh murder is still absconding. “If the daughters of Union Ministers are not safe, what can be said about the safety of ordinary women in Maharashtra? This question was raised by Rohini Khadse, a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) and sister-in-law of Raksha Khadse. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar had earlier slammed the Fadnavis government for its failure to ensure the safety of women. Rohini Khadse alleged that the accused had political backing. This view was shared by Raksha Khadse as well.

“The police no longer have control over criminals, which is why the latter have no fear of law. The government seems indifferent and inactive when it comes to women’s safety, and I feel that it is completely neglecting this issue. Therefore, it is crucial to implement strict laws for the protection of women. Instead of just making big promises, the government must focus on ensuring the safety of its ‘ladki’ sisters,” Rohini Khadse observed.

Since the local police were not responding to her complaint, Raksha Khadse called on Fadnavis, who handles the home portfolio, and drew his attention to the shocking incident. “There is heavy interference by politicians in matters of postings and transfers of police officials because of which these officers are loyal to their political godfathers and not to their uniform,” a former police officer observed. “Huge monies change hands during the postings and transfers,” he added.