Mungantiwar presses Chandrapur Collector for drought relief, water, fodder and irrigation measures

Chandrapur: Crops are withering for want of water, cattle are wandering in search of fodder and villagers are trudging for drinking water, as drought is felt across rural areas. Against this backdrop, MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar met Chandrapur Collector Vasumana Pant with a delegation of farmers. They discussed water conservation, sustainable irrigation, revival of wells, uninterrupted power supply, fodder and water for cattle, and proper use of government funds.

Mungantiwar said special attention should be paid to three things: water conservation, private water management and irrigation. He also said long-term planning was needed so that villages in the Ballarpur Assembly constituency would not have to search for water even if the drought worsened. Given the situation in the district, he demanded that 50 per cent of the District Mineral Foundation fund be spent on drought relief work.

Mungantiwar said it was necessary to clean and restart defunct wells, check the present condition of wells and borewells, carry out rainwater harvesting works around wells, and work to raise the groundwater level through MGNREGA and the Employment Guarantee Scheme. He stressed holding back and percolating rainwater, preserving available water sources and using water with strict economy.

He also demanded that farmers in Mul, Pombhurna, Ballarpur and Chandrapur talukas get sustainable irrigation. He said water for farming during a drought is not only a question of output but a need tied to the livelihood of farm families, so the administration should give irrigation priority.

Mungantiwar said the Jal Jeevan Mission works should be reviewed in detail. He told the meeting that the district has 1,302 schemes under the mission, of which 650 are under way. He instructed that detailed information on the present status of all water supply schemes in the Ballarpur constituency, incomplete works, technical difficulties and the funds required be provided within four days. He also said care should be taken that no scheme stays shut for technical reasons. Mungantiwar said steps would be taken to secure from the government the funds needed to complete the schemes.

While demanding that the broken power connections of regional water supply schemes be restored urgently, he proposed that the deadline for paying old and overdue electricity bills be extended until the drought ends. Mungantiwar said Gulabrao Patil, the state's Minister for Water Supply and Sanitation, would be invited to review the Zilla Parishad's water supply schemes. He expressed the expectation that the various departments would coordinate with one another to give citizens relief.

Mungantiwar suggested that each village be given a separate action plan covering farm-access (pandan) roads, water conservation, holding back and percolating rainwater, and preparing land for growing fodder. Cattle should have troughs, tanks and solar pumps for drinking water. The forest department and the animal husbandry department should draw up plans for fodder. He also suggested promoting maize, which needs little water and matures in a short time, and creating an app or portal for obtaining maize.

In a memorandum given to the Collector, Mungantiwar demanded round-the-clock, 24-hour uninterrupted power supply to farmers' agricultural pumps. He also drew attention to the need for eligible farmers under the solar agricultural pump scheme to get their pumps within the stipulated 60 days. He demanded that seeds of safflower, linseed and mustard, which need little water and a short time to mature, be given to farmers from the District Annual Plan. He said farmers should get guidance and help to change their cropping pattern according to conditions.

He also demanded compensation for fingerling losses for registered fishermen and members of fisheries cooperative societies affected by the drought. He said a meeting should be held with officials of the forest department and CAMPA on deepening streams and ponds in forest areas, increasing water storage and acting against illegal sand extraction. He congratulated Gondwana University for waiving educational fees for farmers' children. Expressing confidence that the drought, though a major crisis, can be overcome through planning, administrative coordination and public participation, he demanded urgent action on farmers' problems.