A letter by an 11-years old farmer’s son from Maharashtra’s Hingoli district to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has melted hearts of people on social media. As farmers in Maharashtra face severe issues due to heavy rainfall including huge losses and several crisis amid festive season, Pratap Kawarkhe — a student of class 6th in Hingoli district — penned an emotional letter stating that his father is a traditional farmer whose soybean crops were destroyed due to rains.
“My father is a traditional farmer. He conveys to us that we have a small piece of agricultural land. He scolds me when I request my father to give me a few bucks. He adds that our Soyabean crop has been destroyed due to rain. I will have to sell the land to give you 10 rupees, my father said,” wrote Kawarkhe.
In his heart wrenching letter, the 11-year old boy narrated how his mother denied making Puran Polis during Dussehra because they “had no money to buy poison”.
“My father is currently working for someone else to make the family survive. I have asked my mother to make Puran Polis on Diwali. She agreed but said that we can only make Puran polis if the government provides us compensation,” he added.
He wrote about how he stopped asking for money from his father after his mother told about a boy whose father hanged himself after incurring heavy losses.
“Dear Sir, We do not even have money to cook sweets (puran poli) during the festive season. We do not have our own house. We have nothing at all. When I argue with my father, my mother stops me by narrating the story of a boy who demanded money from his father but due to heavy losses and pressures his father hanged himself. This happened in our neighbouring village. Now, I have even stopped demanding money from my father.”
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Towards the end of the letter, he requested for CM’s intervention and financial help and also invited him for having puran poli during Diwali.
“Dear sir, I request you to please look into the crisis we are going through and provide us with compensation. It will help us financially. My mother would agree to make Puran Polis during Diwali. You also come to eat puran poli during the festival.”
As the letter went viral, it caught the attention of Assistant Commissioner of Police, Avinash Dharmadhikari who got in touch with the family and shared details for other people to help them. Following Dharmadhikari's tweet, many people pooled in money for the family so that they are able to enjoy the festivities.