‘Nature has taken away our dreams’: Maharashtra farmers battle drought, crop losses

As severe drought conditions continue to affect agricultural land across several districts of Maharashtra farmers of Yevta village in Beed district expressed distress saying nature has taken away their dreamsAmid the worsening situation the Maharashtra government has declared 265 tehsils droughtaffected including all seven tehsils of Akola district A prolonged gap in rainfall has severely affected soybean crops leaving farmers facing the prospect of heavy lossesThe Revenue Department is conducting crop damage assessments and inspecting fields to evaluate the impact of the drought on agricultural productionIn Yevta village farmer Sheikh Rashids fouracre soybean crop is drying up due to a shortage of water and is on the verge of being completely destroyed He showed IANS his field and the droughtaffected crops highlighting the extent of damage caused by the prolonged lack of rainfallSpeaking to IANS Rashid said ldquoThe situation is quite serious All the farmers had hoped for a good harvest but nature took away our dreams Ministers visited our fields We have suffered significant losses due to the lack of water They understood our problems and also took steps to address themrdquoThe farmer said the prolonged water shortage had severely affected the crop leaving farmers worried about their livelihoods and the losses they may have to bear following the failure of the expected harvestThe drought situation has emerged after a long break in rainfall affecting agricultural activities in several parts of Maharashtra Soybean one of the key crops cultivated by farmers in the affected areas has been particularly impacted by the shortage of waterThe India Meteorological Department IMD has officially announced the withdrawal of the monsoon from most parts of Maharashtra raising further concerns among farmers who were hoping for additional rainfall to revive their cropsMeanwhile the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Monday launched a sharp critique of the state government warning that Maharashtra is staring at an unprecedented nineto10monthlong severe droughtThe Thackeray camp in an editorial published in the party mouthpiece Saamana said the departure of the monsoon without yielding return showers had shattered the final hopes of farmers across the state leaving more than half of Maharashtra severely scorchedAccording to the editorial more than 20 of Maharashtras 36 districts recorded an unprecedented rainfall deficit this seasonThe editorial said the prolonged dry spell destroyed crops across Marathwada Vidarbha and Central Maharashtra further deepening concerns over the states agricultural situationThe developments have added to the pressure on the state government to assess crop losses and provide necessary assistance to farmers affected by the drought and water shortageThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever