Mumbai, Sep 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday mounted a sharp attack on the Centre and the Maharashtra government, alleging that the "double-engine" dispensation was indifferent to the state's deepening agrarian crisis as prolonged dry spells push large parts of Maharashtra towards drought.
The Thackeray camp, in the party mouthpiece Saamana, warned that if forecasts prove accurate, nearly 90 per cent of the state will face an acute drought crisis within the next two months. Driven by global El Niño conditions, over 350 districts nationwide are experiencing similar dry spells, raising serious alarms over impending shortages of food grains and drinking water. The editorial questioned whether the "double-engine" government cares about the unfolding calamity.
The editorial detailed how nature has dealt a crushing blow to Maharashtra's farming community. Rains have taken a back seat in 31 out of the state's 36 districts, leaving standing crops in a precarious state as agricultural fields dry up and scorch under extended heat. Barring an occasional light shower, the region has suffered a dry spell lasting 30 to 45 days, devastating local farmers. While pre-monsoon warnings had flagged potential rainfall deficits due to the "El Niño Effect," the editorial highlighted that even meteorologists under-budgeted the sheer severity of its impact. Up to 18 districts in the state have missed out on a normal monsoon altogether.
According to the editorial, monsoon rains arrived nearly 15 days late this year. A dry June was followed by heavy downpours in July, which forced delayed sowings across key belts by a full month. While regions like Mumbai, Pune, Western Maharashtra, and Nashik saw heavy isolated spells during July, rainfall halted across the state from the first week of August and has failed to resume. The initial July rain brought temporary relief, spurring crop growth. However, just as crops entered their critical flowering stage -- with soybean forming pods, cotton developing bolls, and maize growing ears -- the water supply dried up.
Farmers with wells attempted to irrigate fields using accumulated July reserves, but with those sources now fully depleted, saving standing crops has become nearly impossible, said the editorial.
The editorial emphasised that dryland farmers without irrigation infrastructure have suffered the most severe damage. Cash crops such as soybean, cotton, maize, pigeon pea (tur), and turmeric have withered across lakhs of hectares, while pulse crops like black gram (udid) and green gram (moong) are completely ruined. The traditional month of Shravan, which typically brings intermittent showers, passed without a single drop of rain in many parts -- a phenomenon unseen in decades. Once-vibrant fields have turned yellow, stunting crop growth, wiping out financial investments, and rendering months of hard labor useless, it said.
Over 50 lakh hectares in Vidarbha and 48 lakh hectares in Marathwada were sown this season. Faced with withered crops, desperate farmers in several pockets have begun plowing over standing crops to prepare land for the upcoming Rabi season, said the editorial.
However, with early September passing without rainfall, anxiety is growing over whether winter crops like wheat and Bengal gram (harbhara) can even be planted. At the same time, fodder availability for cattle has reached a critical stage. With fields parched, farmers face an agonising dilemma on how to secure sorghum and maize fodder to keep livestock alive over the next seven to eight months, stated the editorial.
Against this backdrop, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has urged the government to immediately launch water management plans and pre-drought relief measures rather than operating in denial while the rural economy faces an unprecedented collapse.
Source: IANS
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
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