Mungantiwar presses Collector for round-the-clock power, water and fodder as drought looms over Ballarpur

Chandrapur: Sudhir Mungantiwar, MLA from Ballarpur, has asked the district administration to move at once against the drought-like conditions building up in his constituency. He called on the District Collector with a delegation and handed over a memorandum listing his demands. Three needs stood at the top: uninterrupted power through the day and night for the paddy crop, drinking water for villages, and fodder for cattle.

Mungantiwar said the safety of farmers' crops, relief for farm families under financial strain and drinking water for villages must come before everything else. He said the administration should not be content with plans that exist only on paper and must be seen delivering results in the field. Given the likely effect of El Nino, he added, preventive steps have to be taken before the shortage of water becomes worse, every department must finish its share of the work within a fixed time, and farmers must get what they need to save their crops.

Additional Collector Dr Nitin Vyavahare attended the meeting along with officials of several departments. Among them were Nilima Mandpe, Executive Engineer (Water Conservation); Shankar Totawar, District Superintending Agriculture Officer; Sumit Belpatre, Executive Engineer of the Rural Drinking Water Supply Department; and Sanjay Ashtagi, Executive Engineer of the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran.

On electricity, the legislator pointed out that Chandrapur is a district that generates power, so it is not right that its own farmers struggle to get enough of it for irrigation. The paddy crop, he said, has reached its last stage and is in urgent need of water. He therefore asked that irrigation supply run for 24 hours without a break over the next few days. He also wanted a separate policy to give farmers round-the-clock power to be drawn up, with a decision taken inside three days. In addition, he made it clear that connections to farm pumps must not be disconnected, and that if any have been cut, action should follow against those responsible.

Turning to water conservation, Mungantiwar said the structures built under the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan should be put to effective use so that available water is held back and storage rises. He asked the water conservation department to carry out retention work at the places where it is needed within the next four days, to deepen watercourses wherever required and to put up earthen bunds. The department was also asked to prepare a complete map of conservation works in the area and to line up skilled staff who can write detailed project reports for the works that are necessary.

On drinking water, he asked that a meeting be called immediately, within seven days, where details are placed on record of how many tankers have so far been supplied in the Ballarpur assembly area. He wanted the Jal Jeevan Mission works now under way finished within seven months, and said the necessary action should be taken to achieve this. Drinking water for animals, he stressed, is an equally important matter. He asked for a separate plan for each village, which should include building water tanks where needed and installing solar-powered pumps, with work beginning right away once the number of tanks required is settled.

The MLA also raised the matter of rainfall measurement. Bamni, in Ballarpur tehsil, has just one rain gauge. He said that when the drought report is prepared, rainfall records have to be accurate and reflect the real situation, so that farmers are not wronged. He asked the District Superintending Agriculture Officer to take special care over this and to do what is necessary to have Ballarpur tehsil included in the drought report.

Mungantiwar called it a serious matter that, although the probable impact of El Nino was known well in advance, water stocks are falling and preventive work has been delayed. He said the administration should not proceed against farmers who draw water from the river for irrigation. It should instead understand what they need and take the steps required to save the crop. He also sought information on whether committees for drought prevention have been formed as the state government directed. If they have, he asked that the number of meetings held so far and their details be presented. He directed that a meeting be held every Monday to review the measures.

The distress of drought, he said, does not stop at the field; the whole farm family suffers. For this reason he asked for a halt to the recovery of loans taken for farming, and demanded that no farmer be asked to pay dues in a lump sum. He further asked for the necessary information to be gathered on waiving school and college examination fees for the children of farmers who have been hit hard by the financial strain of the drought.

For people in drought-affected areas, he wanted clarity on the relaxation of the rules of the employment guarantee scheme that is needed so that work can be made available to them. He also directed that the arrangements of the Food and Civil Supplies Department be reviewed.

The delegation's memorandum and the demands made at the meeting now rest with the Collector's office, along with the deadlines Mungantiwar set: three days for the power policy, four days for water-retention work and seven days for the drinking water meeting, and weekly reviews every Monday after that.