Rahul Gandhi visits drought-hit Maharashtra district

Mumbai, April 28 (IANS) Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi arrived in Satara town Saturday morning for a visit to nearby drought-hit areas of Maharashtra, an official said.

Accompanied by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and other senior ministers, Gandhi arrived from Mumbai in a helicopter. Satara is around 250 km south-east of the country's commercial capital.

Immediately after landing, Gandhi proceeded to the Zalshi Talao, which is one of the major water sources in the district.

Last month, Chavan had visited the drought-hit areas of the state and taken stock of the grim situation in Satara, which is his home district.

Gandhi is scheduled to go to nearby Bijwadi to review the state government sponsored employment guarantee scheme being implemented among the drought-affected people of Satara district.

He will follow this up with a visit to the Pangari fodder depot, one of the important depots in the district which supports a large number of cattle in the region.

Ironically, Satara is where the biggest water supply project of Maharashtra, the Koyna Dam, is located. But, barely a few kilometres away, there is acute scarcity of water virtually eight months in a year.

Gandhi arrived on a two-day visit of Maharashtra Friday morning and spent the day meeting party activists to assess the Congress's strengths and weaknesses in the key state ruled by the party in coalition with the Nationalist Congress.