Varanasi: It was a blessing in disguise for farmers whose fields were selected as site for public meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his proposed visit to Varanasi later this month. The wheat crop of the entire selected area was not only harvested by the administration, the yield and stubble too reached homes of the farmers.
The district administration made arrangements, including for a public meeting and helipad for PM's to land on over 15 bigha land at Mehadiganj. The site was selected after obtaining the consent of the landowners through the village head's representatives.
The wheat crop was on the verge of being harvested at that time. Rajatalab sub divisional magistrate Shivani Singh said when consent of the farmers was sought, they not only agreed to provide their fields but also assured to harvest the crop. But officials noticed that the pace of harvesting was very slow, and it would hamper other arrangements like installation of German hangers, barricading, stage construction, helipad making and other basic work. When the time approached of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's visit to take stock of preparations, the officials intensified efforts to get the crop harvested and fields cleared at the earliest.
The SDM said, "When we saw that only one-third of the crop had been harvested, we decided to send a combined harvester two days ago." After engaging the harvester, the entire crop was harvested and the yield and stubble reached farmers' homes.