Ten lakh farmers affected by heavy rains in Marathwada

Damage over 7 lakh hectares: One and a half lakh farmers affected in August

Aurangabad, Aug 28:

The area of crop damage is increasing in Marathwada, in the three months of June, July and August, one million farmers have suffered damage while crops on 7 lakh hectares were washed away by heavy rains. The State government has announced compensation of Rs 900 crore on August 10. But has not announced when the aid will be given to farmers.

The annual rainfall of the Marathwada division is 679 mm. So far, 574 mm rainfall has been recorded. This is 85 percent of the average rainfall. It was expected that the region would receive 469 mm of rainfall. However it rained 105 mm more. During the three months of monsoon, 208 out of 450 circles received heavy rain. Crops in 3,000 villages were affected by heavy rains. The government made some changes in the criteria for compensation. According to the May 2015 ordinance, compensation is decided by Panchnama on the areas where more than 33 percent of the area has been damaged due to heavy rainfall. But it did not consider the damage caused by continuous rain. This year, for the first time, the government has given instructions to make panchnama of damage covering both the factors. As a result, it increases the area of loss in the segment.

Huge loss in the month of August

In the month of August, 1.60 lakh farmers in six districts suffered losses. This comprised 8,958 farmers in Aurangabad district, 951 in Jalna, 5413 in Parbhani, 24,570 in Hingoli, 44,012 in Latur and 73,733 in Osmanabad lost their crops. Aid of Rs 66 crores will be required for compensation for a month. A large amount of cultivated area was affected by heavy rainfall in August.

89 percent water storage in 11 projects

Currently, 89 percent water storage is available in 11 major projects in Marathwada. It has 4,573 million cubic meters (MCM) of usable water. There is still a month left for the monsoon to end. The water storage in Jayakwadi Dam is 98 percent, Lower Dudhana is 68 percent, Yeldari 89 percent, Siddheshwar 95 percent, Majalgaon 57 percent, Manjra 42 percent, Penganga 96 percent, Manar 99 percent, Lower Terana 93 percent, Vishnupuri 92 percent, while in Sina-Kolegaon project has 30 percent storage.