April 21, 2020, Mumbai: One thing that Rohit Pawar resembles is the identity of a ‘people’s person’. It is only natural that he will come to people’s help when they need him the most. In the wake of Coronavirus outbreak, Rohit Pawar, NCP MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed, distributed sanitizer across all 36 districts of Maharashtra in order to lend a helping hand in combating the novel COVID-19 pandemic. Rohit Pawar, in the trademark style, personally coordinated and ensured that the entire campaign is carried out efficiently. The sanitizer is given free of cost to medical institutes, hospitals, religious institutions, government bodies and corporations all over the state.
Rohit Pawar has not only helped his legislative constituency but also the whole of state in the time of crisis. He believes all the people in distress should be given relief and should have access to basic needs. In the biggest crisis the state has faced, Rohit Pawar said constituency doesn’t matter, people matter. “I would not like that some things are available at one end of the state and not available at another,” he said, adding, “Sanitizer is packed in cans of five litres each and distributed in every corner of Maharashtra. Right from manufacturing to distribution, everything is taken care of by us and made available to people free of charge. The effort is to make sure every citizen gets access to sanitizers in the battle against Coronavirus.” Rohit Pawar also said he does not believe in politics in the times of crisis but only in serving people.
As far Mumbai Metropolitan Region is concerned, Rohit Pawar sent over 9,000 litres of sanitizer in different parts of Mumbai, 500 litres in Mantralaya, 1,200 litres were made available to Thane people and 1,000 litres were sent to the people in Navi Mumbai. In all, he has gone on to distribute around 40,000 litres of sanitizer across the state.
The sanitizer has been manufactured by Baramati Agro Limited, of which Rohit Pawar is the CEO. It undergoes several quality checks and ensures top quality. According to the market rates, each sanitizer bottle costs around Rs. 100-150 of 50 ml.
Rohit Pawar has helped distribute the sanitizer cans in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Pune, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Satara, Sangli, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Kolhapur and Baramati among others which would help lakhs of urban as well as rural people have access to free sanitation. The Karjat-Jamkhed MLA has not differentiated between the rural and urban class but has gone on to help each Maharashtrian. From government medical colleges to religious institutions and district health departments to hospitals, the sanitizer is distributed through networking to local leaders or representatives and ultimately made available to people without any cost. Rohit Pawar also helped provide sanitizer to police, medical colleges and revenue administration. He also distributed ample amount of sanitizer to religious places for them to continue using even after the places get opened post lockdown. Add to that, he helped dabbawalas, auto and taxi drivers get access to sanitizer as well. Also, he donated face masks which he brought from women self-help groups.
Moreover, Rohit Pawar has also toured the entire Maharashtra when he was a Zilla Parishad member in the Pune District. Rohit Pawar knows his people; people know Rohit Pawar as their own son-of-soil Maharashtra.
Although being a first-time MLA, this is not Rohit Pawar’s first time helping people. He has been actively involved in helping Maharashtrians for long. Be it at Nashik hospitals when Rohit Pawar had donated ventilators when they were in dire need or facilitating e-learning for students of the state. During the dry period, he also helped in supplying water tankers to quell the thirst of dry areas such as Beed, Satara and Ahmednagar. The biggest plus is that Rohit Pawar wishes to keep it under wraps and not make song and dance out of it.
Rohit Pawar’s crusades in order to uplift people have always been his stronghold. He has set an example of being a new-age politician who has a sharp sense of balance and can differentiate between the right and the wrong. This manifests his might and determination to serve people stems from the legacy of his grand-uncle, former Chief Minister, Defense Minister, Union Agricultural Minister and NCP founder-president, Mr Sharad Pawar.
A dynamic personality of a being social crusader and businessman along with an elected representative is the cherry on the top.