A distressed farmer from Mukhed taluka of Nanded staring at his wilted soybean crop
For Balaji Katshiv, the loss is already around Rs 1.5 lakh.
“I have completely lost my soybean and moong because there was almost no rainfall in Aug and Sept,” Shaikh, a farmer from Honwadaj village, said. “What more proof does govt need to declare drought here?” he asked. “Leaving us out of drought relief is like rubbing salt on our wounds,” Katshiv said.
He had cultivated five acres. He is now watching his soybean wilt. “We don’t know what logic was applied. This is sheer injustice at a time of crisis.”
“Crops on 13,823 of 21,671 hectares in Mudkhed and 61,600 of 75,888 hectares in Mukhed have been lost.
Former chief minister and Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan said heavy rain on isolated days had skewed the overall rainfall figures. “I have urged CM Devendra Fadnavis to include Mukhed and Mudkhed as a special case,” Chavan said. The crucial dry spell in Aug had already stunted kharif crops. These farmers need relief beyond technical norms.”
Nanded collector Rahul Kardile said both talukas would be assessed again under the next trigger in early Oct. Scanty rainfall days have also affected the calculation of dry spells,” Kardile said. “We welcome the drought declaration in 265 talukas, but govt resolution offers no concrete relief in the form of adequate financial assistance,” Kisan Sabha national joint secretary Ajit Nawale said.
“The spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall has been highly uneven. “We will assess Trigger-II parameters for both talukas in the first week of Oct. Farmer organisations, however, say recognition alone will not put money into distressed farmers’ hands.