Maharashtra leaders shudder as drought tightens grip ahead of LS polls

NagpurMumbai 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 electionsThe 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 officialsPredicting a 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 PMFBYDespite the drought Maharashtra has done little to strengthen the MNREGA make adequate provisions for water and fodder and now people also face food shortageThe same mood prevails among the rural folks that led to the BJPs rout in Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh last December warned DhawaleHowever the ruling Bharatiya Janata PartyShiv Sena combine has declared drought in around 24000 villages across 180 tehsils where over 50 per cent of the states 16 million farmers 160 crore have been badly hitThe 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 IANSHe 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 addedTo back the efforts the state government announced on Tuesday that the capacity of each camp would be raised from 500 to 3000 cattle Kendrekar addedOf the over 2500 water tankers plying in the affected areas around 1400 are operating in the Marathwada region alone The rest are being used in Aurangabad Beed and Jalna districtsOn the reports of distress sale of cattle by farmers in Bhoom Osmanabad district according to a private website Kendrekar said he would enquire into itAn Osmanabad official said fodder camps were mostly required in areas where cattle owners were engaged in milk production besides farmingSaid 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 Tiwari told IANSAccording to grassroots activists and groups many farmers are abandoning their aged cattle in forests as they cannot feed them and provide waterWith depleting resources farmers cant 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 natures mercy Tiwari saidHe 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 certaintyIt 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 wordsA 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 addedThe government has asked collectors in the droughthit regions to submit reports on water supply daily and implement the projects related to water availability that are stuck due to minor issuesCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever