Karajkheda storage dam in Dharashiv district is bone dry in Sept 2026
On Sept 23, 2025, incessant rain had breached small dams, marooned villages and flattened crops. The region had received more than 200% of its expected Sept rainfall. Exactly a year later, Marathwada has received just 44% of its average rainfall. Last Sept, 129 of Marathwada’s 450 revenue circles recorded heavy rainfall in 24 hours.
Lives were lost.
Indra Mani, vice-chancellor of Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani, said extreme weather events could become more frequent with climate change. More research and official interventions are needed in the field of climate-resistant agriculture,” he said. Kharif crops have taken a hit. Rabi prospects are fading. Reservoir stocks are being guarded for drinking water. Villages were inundated. Crops were submerged. NDRF teams used boats and helicopters to rescue stranded residents. The administration was then worried about excess discharge from major reservoirs, including Jayakwadi, Majalgaon and Sina-Kolegaon. The sharp swing has once again exposed Marathwada’s vulnerability to increasingly erratic monsoons. “Farmers have to give up traditional cropping choices in days to come and mixed cropping could soon become a norm.
