MCA to contribute one crore towards drought relief

The board will hand over the cheque to Chief Minister Devendra Fandavis at the final One-Day International (ODI) between India and South Africa at Wankhede Stadium.

"Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will personally come to the match and MCA will hand its cheque of Rs. 1 crore to the relief of farmers": Ashish Shelar (R), vice-president, MCA

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has decided to hand over Rs. one crore to the state government to tackle the drought situation in the region.

“India-South Africa match is there on October 25 at Wankhede Stadium and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will personally come to the match and MCA will hand its cheque of Rs. 1 crore to the relief of farmers,” Ashish Shelar, vice-president MCA and Mumbai city BJP chief, told reporters here.

As many as 14,708 villages in Maharashtra are facing drought conditions where paisewari ('value of crops') is less than 50 per cent, Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse had announced a couple of days back. Meanwhile, the MCA has also decided to considerably slash the ticket rates for the fifth and final ODI to be played in the city.

“The online ticket sale will start tomorrow or day after and offline stalls will also be set up,” Shelar said.