Most parts of Maharashtra are under severe water distress
Pune: District administration has so far completed nearly 80% of the panchnamas in drought-hit areas for crop loss and is racing to complete the assessment by Sunday. The difficulties have emerged even as joint teams comprising officials from the revenue, rural development and agriculture departments have been conducting crop-loss assessments across the district for nearly 15 days. Nearly 60-70% panchanamas were completed in the newly declared drought-hit talukas – Junnar and Ambegaon.
Therefore, our officials have requested the farmers to send geo-tagged photos with required documents. However, farmers in some areas have reported difficulties with geotagging photographs and uploading documents, raising concerns over delays in the assessment process.
Farmers said assistant agriculture officials have asked them to upload geotagged photographs of their damaged crops and submit the required documents. “Those unfamiliar with smartphones and mobile applications were struggling to complete the digital formalities, leaving them dependent on others for assistance,” said Shantarama Saravade, a farmer activist from Khed tehsil. District collector Jitendra Dudi said, “The administration aims to complete the remaining work by Sunday, following which it will seek funds from state govt for disbursal. The administration had started the assessment in these talukas even before they were officially declared drought-hit, Dudi said. A senior official from the district agriculture office said, “It has become extremely challenging for our agriculture assistance officials to visit each village in their jurisdiction. These on-field hurdles are hampering our overall progress. ” Long-term water management Referring to weather projections, Dudi said the possible El Nino intensification from Dec could affect the timing of the next monsoon. “The administration has therefore started assessing the available water stocks in dams and planning their utilisation up to Aug 31, 2027, to prepare for a possible prolonged dry spell,” he said.
The efforts are to enable state govt to release financial assistance to eligible farmers before Diwali. In some cases, an official even handles as many as ten villages.
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