Maharashtra farm minister visits Khamgaon, hears farmers' drought concerns

Maharashtra's agriculture minister Dattatray Bharne visited Pimprala village in Khamgaon taluka on Sunday, going straight to farmers' fields to inspect crops. He spoke with farmers directly to understand the impact of a long gap in rainfall on their crops, and also heard their difficulties and the current state of farming.

The state government has directed all talukas to assess the actual situation of rainfall, water and crops and submit reports immediately. As part of this, the administration is inspecting conditions in fields across the region, with emphasis on understanding crop condition, water availability and the problems farmers face. During the inspection in Pimprala, farmers raised the rainfall situation, the water crops need, and various farming difficulties before the minister.

Bharne said efforts were underway at the administrative level. According to him, visiting farmers' fields in person would make it easier for local-level problems to reach the administration. Based on this inspection, a report for the area would be prepared and further action taken. Labour minister Akash Fundkar, Nationalist Congress Party leader and former MLA Dilipkumar Sananda, and officials of the agriculture department and administration were present on the occasion.

Separately, in Buldhana district, Congress office-bearers and workers stopped the agriculture minister's convoy and handed him a memorandum of farmers' demands over losses to kharif crops caused by the rainfall shortage. They demanded an immediate assessment of the drought-like conditions in the district and concrete assistance to farmers. Congress office-bearers told the minister that the lack of rain had caused heavy losses to kharif season crops, and that areas such as Khamgaon, Jalgaon, Shegaon and Malkapur had seen a large gap in rainfall, putting the kharif season at risk. The memorandum demanded an impartial survey of the entire district to record the drought-like situation, immediate financial help for affected farmers, prompt crop damage assessments and compensation, and necessary assistance through crop insurance, loans and government schemes.

The Satyagrah Kisan Sangathan also stopped the minister's convoy at Parkhed Phata, demanding that the entire Buldhana district be declared drought-affected and that farmers be given substantial assistance. The organisation claimed there had been no rain for more than 45 days in several parts of the district. State president Raju Nakade raised farmers' problems before the minister and alleged that Buldhana district was often left out of assistance despite facing drought or excess-rain conditions. Nakade warned that minor assistance would no longer be acceptable, and that if farmers did not receive full support, a large-scale agitation would be launched with farmers.