Two children donate ₹1.51 lakh to CM Fadnavis's drought relief fund
Synopsis
Two children, Rujul and Labhansh Gawande, presented a ₹1,51,000 cheque to Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur on 19 October 2026, donating to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for drought-affected farmers in the state.
Key Takeaways
₹1,51,000 donated to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for drought-hit farmers in Maharashtra.
Cheque handed over by children Rujul and Labhansh Gawande on behalf of Revati Thakare-Gawande in Nagpur .
CM Devendra Fadnavis personally acknowledged and thanked the donors at the handover event on 19 October 2026 .
The CM Relief Fund is Maharashtra's primary mechanism for channelling emergency aid to communities affected by drought and other natural calamities.
Vidarbha , where Nagpur is located, faces recurring drought cycles that put agricultural households under severe financial strain.
Two young children — Rujul and Labhansh Gawande — handed a cheque of ₹1,51,000 to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur on Monday, 19 October 2026, on behalf of Revati Thakare-Gawande, for the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to aid drought-hit farmers across the state. CM Fadnavis personally thanked the donors at the handover event.
The gesture was small in stature but pointed in intent: two children presenting a cheque for farmers they have likely never met, channelling a contribution through the state's primary emergency welfare instrument.
What the CM Relief Fund does for drought-affected farmers
The Chief Minister's Relief Fund is Maharashtra's state-managed mechanism for routing donations and supplementary government resources toward communities hit by natural calamities. During drought cycles — a recurring reality in Vidarbha and Marathwada — successive administrations have leaned on the fund to bridge the gap between budgeted relief packages and ground-level need. Nagpur, the winter capital of Maharashtra and the heart of the Vidarbha region, has repeatedly found itself at the centre of agrarian distress reporting due to acute water scarcity. Public handover events like this one serve a dual purpose: they formalise the donation in an official record and signal to a broader public that civilian contributions to drought relief are welcomed and acknowledged at the highest level of the state.Vidarbha's drought cycle and the fund's place in it
Vidarbha's farmers have faced repeated dry spells that erode soil moisture, slash yields, and push agricultural households toward crisis. The CM Relief Fund has historically acted as a fast-disbursement channel when formal government relief packages take time to reach identified drought-hit talukas. Donations from individuals, institutions, and — as in this case — families acting through children add to that corpus, even if the headline amounts are modest relative to the scale of need. What stands out here is the form of the contribution: the family chose to route the donation through young children, a deliberate act that frames civic responsibility as something learned early and expressed publicly.Point of View
High-visibility donation moments reinforce a narrative of collective response to Vidarbha's chronic drought problem at a time when official relief packages face scrutiny over speed of disbursement. The choice to present the cheque through children adds a civic-education dimension, signalling that drought solidarity is meant to be a cross-generational norm rather than an emergency impulse. Whether such contributions translate into faster relief on the ground will depend on official updates on fund disbursement to identified drought-hit talukas in the weeks ahead.
NationPress
19 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund?
The Chief Minister's Relief Fund is a state-managed fund in Maharashtra that collects donations and directs resources toward communities affected by natural calamities such as droughts, floods, and other emergencies.
Who donated ₹1,51,000 to CM Fadnavis for drought relief?
Children Rujul and Labhansh Gawande presented the cheque on behalf of Revati Thakare-Gawande to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur on 19 October 2026.
Which region of Maharashtra is most affected by drought?
Vidarbha and Marathwada are the regions most recurrently affected by drought in Maharashtra, with Vidarbha's water scarcity regularly driving agrarian distress among farming households.
How does the CM Relief Fund help drought-affected farmers?
The fund acts as a fast-disbursement channel for supplementary aid to drought-hit talukas, bridging gaps when formal government relief packages are still being processed and reaching farmers in acute need.
Where did the donation handover to CM Devendra Fadnavis take place?
The cheque was handed over in Nagpur, Maharashtra's winter capital and a city situated in the heart of the drought-prone Vidarbha region.
