Bail Pola will become Vidarbha's biggest festival: Minister Bhosale

A Bail Pola and agriculture exhibition was organised in Wardha by the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Vyayam Shala and the Ramnagar Bail Pola Utsav Samiti. Speaking on the occasion, Public Works Minister Shivendrasingh Bhosale said the festival would go on to become a major celebration for Vidarbha.

Bhosale said that to raise farmers' income, their bullock pairs work day and night alongside them. He said the real worth of these bullock pairs was first recognised by Rajmata Jijau, and it is that tradition which Vidarbha carries forward by celebrating Bail Pola on a large scale.

The event was attended by guardian minister Dr Pankaj Bhoyar, Minister of State for Agriculture Advocate Ashish Jaiswal, municipal council president Sudhir Pangul, vice-president Pradeepsingh Thakur, district superintending agriculture officer Arvind Uparikar, district planning committee member Sanjay Gate, Santosh Thakur, Shubhangi Kolte, Vandana Bhute, Nilesh Kite and Bail Pola committee president Naresh Gujar.

Bhosale said it was a matter of pride that the Bail Pola festival is now celebrated as a full-fledged utsav. He said a farmer toils in the field day and night, and the bullock pair works alongside to help raise the farmer's income. He said this importance of the bullock pair is being preserved in Vidarbha through Bail Pola, and future generations should understand its value. He said the government is running several schemes for farmers' welfare. Responding to a request from guardian minister Dr Pankaj Bhoyar, he assured that 10 crore rupees would soon be sanctioned for the beautification of the area around the Shivaji Maharaj statue chowk.

Guardian minister Dr Pankaj Bhoyar said the Bail Pola festival has been celebrated here on a large scale for the past 25 years to preserve farmers' cultural tradition. He said the bullock pair works hard in the fields to help raise farmers' earnings, and so deserves respect. He said the agriculture department should work to make the agriculture exhibition bigger in future. He also said the state government has announced a historic loan waiver for farmers in distress, which has benefited 33,000 farmers in the district.

Minister of State for Agriculture Advocate Ashish Jaiswal said the state government is running several schemes for farmers' welfare. The lottery system has been scrapped so that the benefits of the agriculture mechanisation scheme reach farmers directly. The Women Farmer Honour Scheme has been launched. Two crore women in the state will benefit from the Gopinath Munde Sanugrah Yojana. Farmers are being given the benefit of the loan waiver, and the Baliraja Shet Pandan Rasta Yojana has proved beneficial for farmers. He said a roadmap has been prepared for how farmers will prosper over the next 20 years.

Sudhir Pangul and Sanjay Gate also spoke on the occasion. Earlier, dignitaries inaugurated the agriculture exhibition by cutting a ribbon and performed a puja of the bullock pair to formally launch Bail Pola. A large number of farmers and residents were present at the event.