Mumbai: The ongoing dry spell in Maharashtra has resulted in the state staring at a drought-like situation despite it being peak monsoon season.
The weather conditions have resulted in a nearly 60 percent deficit in terms of average rainfall in August, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials.
Maharashtra’s monsoon season typically starts in June and ends in September. While June was a dry month, July saw excess rainfall, but over the last 25 days, the state has recorded less than 100 mm rain, according to IMD data.
Since 1 June, the state has received 14 percent less rainfall than the Long Period Average (LPA) for the season. According to the IMD website, LPA of rainfall is “the rainfall recorded over a particular region for a given interval (like month or season) average over a long period like 30 years, 50 years etc”. The LPA acts as a benchmark while forecasting the quantitative rainfall for that region for a specific month or season.
The insufficient rain means that water levels in reservoirs have depleted across the state and the number of tankers being supplied to various villages and hamlets has increased manifold.
Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil told ThePrint: “The priority will be drinking water and we are assessing the situation. I have taken meetings of various district heads and are monitoring the situation continuously.”
The Opposition has demanded that the government declare a drought in Maharashtra. At a rally in Hingoli earlier this week, former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray took aim at the Eknath Shinde government: “We are staring at a drought-like situation but the government is just giving false promises about ‘Shasan Aplya Dari’ (government at your doorstep) programme. The double triple engine sarkar is just talking empty words.”
Jayant Patil, state president of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), also taunted the government: “Is the government even faintly aware that there is ‘drought at its doorstep’?”
In a post on social media platform X, Patil wrote Tuesday that kharif crops were being wasted in 18 districts of the state, barring the Konkan region, and Sangli, his home district, is the worst affected.
He further wrote that farmers are also worried about saving their livestock as there is a huge shortage of fodder.
सद्य:स्थितीत ३२९ महसुली मंडळात पावसाचा २३ दिवसांचा खंड पडल्याने दुष्काळाची छाया गडद झाली आहे. कोकण वगळता राज्यातील १८ जिल्ह्यातील खरीप वाया गेला आहे.
सर्वात कमी पावसाची नोंद सांगली जिल्ह्यात झाली आहे. सरासरीपेक्षा ४५ टक्के कमी पाऊस झाला आहे. राज्यातील बऱ्याचशा भागात दुष्काळजन्य…
— Jayant Patil- जयंत पाटील (@Jayant_R_Patil) August 29, 2023
Also Read: Poor monsoon rain worries Indian sugarcane growers; may impact yields, reduce output
Depleted levels in reservoirs, water cuts possible
According to data sourced from the water resources department, last year, till 28 August, the state’s reservoirs were around 84 percent full. In comparison, the levels were at 63 percent this year.
The most dire situation is in the Aurangabad region, where only 31 percent stored water remains as against 75 percent last year. The reservoir formed by the Jayakwadi dam — which supplies water to the drought-prone Marathwada region — had only 30 percent water remaining on 28 August, whereas on the same day last year, the water levels were at 98 percent.
According to data from the water supply and sanitation department, in the week that ended on 28 August, 363 villages and 1,403 hamlets in the state were being supplied water by 48 government and 348 private tankers.
Of these, most are being supplied to the Nashik division which includes Ahmednagar, the Pune division which includes Satara and Sangli, and Aurangabad division (Aurangabad and Jalna).
At present, water is being supplied to 1,403 hamlets and 363 villages in Maharashtra through 386 (338 private, 48 government) tankers.
Last year, till 28 August, only 7 tankers were used in the state.
Speaking to media persons Tuesday, CM Shinde said that the condition of crops not being good is a reality. “We have taken stock of the situation because of the rain deficit but are hopeful that rain will come again soon.”
Water supply minister Patil said the government has instructed the district administration to implement water cuts wherever possible to save stock for longer. “Currently there are around 400 water tankers in the state. But looking at the situation, the number might increase going forward. We will see how it goes for the next four five days,” he added.
Crop loss
The state is also staring at crop loss due to deficient rain. According to Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde, six out of eight Marathwada districts are facing a drought-like situation and the government is assessing the availability of water for crops and cattle fodder.
“Only Hingoli and Nanded districts in Marathwada have received average seasonal rainfall so far. There is provision to give 25 percent crop insurance amount to farmers if there is a rain gap of 21 days,” he told media persons Friday.
He added: “I have also directed district collectors to visit every taluka and submit crop situation reports within one week.”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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