Dharashiv farmer sends ₹5,000 to Maharashtra chief minister in protest

A soybean cultivator from Dharashiv district sent a ₹5,000 money order to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, protesting the state government’s interim aid for drought-hit farmers. The New Indian Express reported that the farmer described the assistance as “paltry.” The account identifies him as Chand Shaikh, from Surdi village in Dharashiv tehsil.

Shaikh told reporters outside the Surdi post office that he had earned ₹3,900 and borrowed ₹1,100 from a friend to send the money order. The amount he sent matched the ₹5,000 initial relief payment Fadnavis had announced for drought-hit farmers. Fadnavis said the government would deposit the initial ₹5,000 directly into farmers’ bank accounts ahead of Diwali.

He described the transfer as urgent support before the festival. The announced payment was interim aid; the article says Fadnavis cited the time required for administrative evaluations and Central assessment procedures, which he said could not legally be completed before Diwali.

The state government had added 40 talukas to its drought-hit list, bringing the total to 305 of Maharashtra’s 358 talukas. The New Indian Express also reported that more than 85 per cent of the state’s talukas had been declared drought-hit.

These figures describe the administrative drought designation and the scale of the relief setting in which Fadnavis announced the initial transfer. Shaikh’s money order was a protest against the amount of interim assistance, as described in the report.

His statement about earnings and borrowing explains how he assembled the money he sent; the article does not report a separate reply from Fadnavis or the government to his action. It also does not say whether the money order was accepted or whether the payment was returned.

The Hindu’s headline likewise reports the farmer’s ₹5,000 money order and characterises the interim aid as “paltry.” NDTV Profit’s headline reports that IAS and IPS officers would donate one day’s salary to aid farmers. Those headlines provide no further details about the donation or the farmer’s action beyond what they state.

The documented next steps in the main account are the announced bank transfers ahead of Diwali and the administrative and Central assessments Fadnavis said were needed for the broader process.