Unseasonal rains continue to damage crops across Maha
PUNE: Many areas of Maharashtra, including Solapur, Hingoli and parts of Vidarbha continued to experience heavy rains on the third consecutive day on Tuesday. “Over the next three days, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Maharashtra will experience rainfall with thunderstorms. Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha are likely to experience light to moderate, isolated to fairly widespread rainfall, along with high likelihood of thunderstorms and lightning,” an India Meteorological Department (IMD) release stated. Nashik, Ahmednagar, Beed, Pune, Akola, Washim, Amravati and Jalgaon are very likely to be affected, according to IMD. “Hailstorm is expected in Marathwada and central Maharashtra on November 30. For Pune, light showers are expected with hazy skies and the skies will be cloudy over the next two to three days,” IMD said.
Meanwhile, farms spread over more than 1 lakh hectares of land have been impacted by the unseasonal rains. The state cabinet on Wednesday decided to raise the area of land being given as aid from the existing two hectares to three hectares. Chief minister Eknath Shinde asked guardian ministers to visit the hailstorm-affected areas. While six persons and 161 animals are reported to have died due to the sudden downpour, crops including cotton, onion, grape, banana, sweet lime, orange, rice, jowar, wheat and gram across Maharashtra have been damaged.
Agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde said, “The relief and rehabilitation department including the revenue department is engaged in gathering details about the damage to farmlands and the government will stand strong behind the farmers during this crisis.”
“Besides, a total of 16 districts have been affected by the rains and hailstorm, causing extensive damage to various crops. On behalf of the agriculture, relief and rehabilitation, and revenue departments, work has started to collect objective information on the damage caused by unseasonal rains. Wherever farmers have suffered losses, it is the government’s duty to stand firmly behind them,” Munde said.
In the Sakri, Shirpur and Sindkhed talukas of Dhule district, banana, papaya, cotton and gram grown over 46 hectares of land has been damaged. Rice, cotton, tur, chilli, maize and onion grown over 2,239 hectares of land in Nawapur, Akkalkuwa, Nandurbar, Shahada, Taloda and Akrani talukas of Nandurbar district has been damaged. Onion, gram, wheat, maize, sorghum and fruit grown on 552 hectares in Jalgaon, Bhusawal, Yaval, Raver, Muktainagar, Ammalner, Chopda, Erandol, Parola, Chalisgaon, Jamner, Pachora, Dharangaon, Bodwad and Bhadgaon talukas of Jalgaon district has been damaged. Banana, papaya and maize grown on 15,307 hectares in Sangamner, Akola, Kopargaon, Parner, and Rahata talukas of Ahmednagar district has been damaged.
Maharashtra State Grape Growers’ Association vice-president, Kailas Bhosale, said that grapes grown over 30,000 hectares of land have been affected in Nashik district. “The early standing crop of grape and onion was destroyed. Besides, the fog and cold are taking a toll on the remaining crop. Earlier too, we faced unseasonal rain but this time, the impact has been significant and extensive, and a huge belt has been affected. We have demanded crop insurance cover for fruits and whoever demands, insurance must be given by the district administration,” Bhosale said.
“Insurance on the lines of Kharif and Rabi crops must be given for fruit crops. The compensation given by the administration must be such that it should at least cover the production cost which is between Rs2.30 lakh and Rs3 lakhs. We have also demanded a solar panel subsidy from the government so that a permanent solution to this issue is found during times of crisis,” Bhosale said.
