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Maharashtra leaders shudder as drought tightens grip ahead of LS polls

NAGPUR/MUMBAI: As the most severe drought in nearly half a century has gripped parts of Maharashtra, politicians, especially from the ruling combine, are worried over its ramifications in the Lok Sabha elections.

Maharashtra leaders shudder as drought tightens grip ahead of LS polls

The drought, which has ravaged the central Marathwada region and surroundings, caps three years of almost failed monsoon, causing rural migration to urban centres, looming food shortage and distress sale of cattle in villages. File photo



Tribune News Service
Nagpur/Mumbai, March 6

As the most severe drought in nearly half a century has gripped parts of Maharashtra, politicians, especially from the ruling combine, are worried over its ramifications in the Lok Sabha elections.

The drought, which has ravaged the central Marathwada region and surroundings, caps three years of almost failed monsoon, causing rural migration to urban centres, looming food shortage and distress sale of cattle in villages. All these have simply aggravated the agrarian crisis, say experts and officials.

Predicting disastrous political fallout, All Indian Kisan Sabha (AIKS) President Ashok Dhawale said the ruling BJP has failed to fulfil its 2014 promises of complete farm loan waiver, implementation of the MS Swaminathan Commission report and the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

"Despite the drought, Maharashtra has done little to strengthen the MNREGA, make adequate provisions for water and fodder, and now people also face food shortage. The same mood prevails among the rural folks that led to the BJP's rout in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh last December," warned Dhawale.

However, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena combine has declared drought in around 24,000 villages across 180 tehsils, where over 50 per cent of the state's 16 million farmers (1.60 crore) have been badly hit.

"The government is seized of the seriousness. Efforts are on to ensure sufficient water and fodder supply in these areas. So far, we have sanctioned 109 cattle camps, and more shall be opened soon, Aurangabad Divisional Commissioner Sunil Kendrekar told IANS.

He said field surveys are being conducted in all affected districts of the region by collectors and other senior officials. More cattle camps would be set up once the survey data is analysed, he added.

To back the efforts, the state government announced on Tuesday that the capacity of each camp would be raised from 500 to 3,000 cattle, Kendrekar added.

Of the over 2,500 water tankers plying in the affected areas, around 1,400 are operating in the Marathwada region alone. The rest are being used in Aurangabad, Beed and Jalna districts.

On the reports of distress sale of cattle by farmers in Bhoom, Osmanabad district, (according to a private website), Kendrekar said he would enquire into it.

An Osmanabad official said fodder camps were mostly required in areas where cattle owners were engaged in milk production, besides farming.

Said leading activist and the Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavalamban Mission (VNSSM) Chairman Kishore Tiwari: "I have learnt of a few cases of distress sale of cattle in the Beed and Nanded districts. But they need to be verified. Such sales may take place at the weekly markets in various tehsils. They are difficult to track. The reasons could also vary".

According to grassroots activists and groups, many farmers are abandoning their aged cattle in forests as they cannot feed them and provide water.

"With depleting resources, farmers can't afford to keep these cattle. They cannot sell them due to the stringent rules in the state and fears of reprisal from parties like Bajrang Dal. Thus, they abandon them in forests at nature's mercy," Tiwari said.

He also criticised the government for its failure to expedite setting up of cattle camps despite it being clear even before the monsoon season ended in September 2018 that a drought was a certainty.

"It (no measures on time) has further irked villagers and farmers despite this being the third consecutive year of drought. Acute water shortage, failed crops, unfulfilled government assurances on loan waivers, etc, have added to the agrarian distress," Tiwari —who is accorded a Minister status—said without mincing words.

A senior government official said the state government has spent around Rs 150 crore over supplying water through tankers. It could rise nearly four times to Rs 600 crore before monsoon 2019 sets in, the official added.

The government has asked collectors in the drought-hit regions to submit reports on water supply daily and implement the projects related to water availability that are stuck due to minor issues.

Farm crisis

With water levels in all the dams in Maharashtra running low, the Devendra Fadnavis government is pulling out all stops to ensure that farmers do not turn against the BJP-Shiv Sena combine in forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

A report released by the water resources department today indicated that there was just 32.88 per cent of water in the state's 3,267 dams as on March 1 this year. Officials said only around half the available water is drawable before the dams hit the dead storage levels. In Aurangabad district water levels have already fallen to just 7 per cent as against 42.67 per cent at this time last year.

Water supply for agriculture has already been stopped in Aurangabad district in order to ensure adequate stocks for drinking purposes, officials said.

Public Works Department minister Chandrakant Patil said the government has so far deployed 2,636 tankers to meet the demand for drinking water.

The opposition parties were however quick to latch on to the agrarian crisis in Maharashtra by calling it the worst drought in 50 years that has caught the state government on the wrong foot.

The state government's compensation of Rs 2,909 crore for 42 lakh drought-affected farmers has been called inadequate by the opposition.

The bank accounts of 42 lakh drought-affected farmers have been credited with an aid of Rs. 1,507 crore, according to Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar. A total of Rs. 2,909 crore has been allocated for this very purpose. Compensation per hectare is Rs 6,800 for dry land, Rs 13,500 for assured irrigated area and Rs 18,000 per hectare for multi crop area. However, a farmer can claim compensation for just two hectares, which has left farmers in Vidarbha and Marathwada in the lurch.

Farms here are bigger but due to lack of irrigation there is just one crop here, according to farm activists.

With elections coming near, Congress and the NCP leaders have indicated that the agriculture crisis would play a big role in the campaign. With IANS

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