Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 19 (IANS) Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is pained at the way the media ignored his tour of drought-hit districts and meeting with suffering farmers instead only highlighting his political hobnobbing during his recent state visit.

"He is deeply upset at the manner in which the media here reported his three-day trip," State Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran told IANS.

"He genuinely wanted to see for himself the plight of the farmers who have been affected. Instead, they had reports like he spent his time in a resort or on his political discussions. This has pained him a lot," said Premachandran.

Pawar visited the five drought-hit districts of Wayanad, Idukki, Palakkad, Alappuzha and Kozhikode during his Sep 10-12 trip.

Since 1998, more than 1,500 farmers have committed suicide in the state unable to bear their financial losses on account of failed crops.

He carried on with the trip despite the inclement weather. On one day he travelled nearly six hours - from Palakkad to reach the hilly district of Wayanad, where the most affected farmers in Kerala live.

"I was with him during his three-day visit. He could have easily skipped the trip to Wayand saying that his helicopter could not land. But at his age, he travelled by road from Palakkad all the way to Wayanad and visited the interior districts to see for himself the situation. In other districts he travelled by road deep into the interiors," said Premachandran.

"He was pained at a newspaper editorial on his visit. He would get all the vernacular news reports translated. His meeting with Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) chief K. Karunakaran got delayed by five hours as he wanted to visit Wayanad," said the minister.

The state government has submitted a detailed package to the federal minister, seeking Rs.56.65 billion in assistance to help the farmers who have been hit by the falling price of cash crops.