Drought fear looms large over Maharashtra amid rain deficit

Karam Prakash

New Delhi, July 6

The drought-like condition over Maharashtra is turning out to be very precarious because most of the state’s regions are rain deficit. Marthwada is worst hit with a 64 per cent rain deficit.

Overall, the state is 39 per cent rain deficit as no area has received normal rainfall until July 5. The sowing of key Kharif crops in the state had already been hampered owing to the delayed monsoon.

The onset of monsoon in Maharashtra was delayed by 10-15 days from the normal dates to set off. As per the Union Agriculture Department, around 14.087 lakh hectares were sown in the state until June 30, which was down from 24 lakh hectares during the same period last year.

The areas under soybean and cotton, which are major crops of the state, have declined drastically this year. Consequently, the Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday held a meeting to review the drought preparedness and Kharif activities, including the progress of sowing in Maharashtra.

“The progress of the monsoon in the state and the forecast for the month of July 2023 were reviewed. The rain deficit in the state stood at 39% as of date. Monsoon, however, is expected to pick up during the month of July, as per Indian Meteorological Department (IMD),” said a senior official of the Agriculture Ministry

During the meeting, Dilip Zende, Director of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra, highlighted the measures being undertaken for drought preparedness in the state. “Contingency plans for every district has already been prepared with the help of four agricultural universities in the state,” said Dilip Zende.