Rahul Gandhi on 'padyatra' in Vidarbha (Lead, Changing dateline)

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday began a 15-km 'padyatra' in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region where he will meet families of farmers who committed suicide after their crops failed.

Gandhi reached Nagpur on Wednesday night and left early Thursday for Gunj village, about 50 km from Amravati town, to begin the march.

On his way to Gunj, Gandhi was greeted by people who lined both sides of the roads. He spoke to some of them to get an insight into their problems.

Gandhi will visit a total of five villages and meet farmers who have suffered crop losses due to unseasonal rains, Congress leaders said. He is accompanied by state Congress president Ashok Chavan.

Maharashtra is one of the states which has experienced severe agrarian crisis. Amravati division in the Vidarbha region has witnessed many farmer suicides this year.

Maharashtra is the second state Gandhi is visiting after Punjab to meet farmers and to campaign against the central government's controversial land ordinance which he says is anti-farmer.