Pathardi orchard of 65 acres faces ruin as water runs out in October at Pirewadi
Wells and borewells have dried up in Pirewadi, and the farm pond holds only 15 to 20 days of water for thousands of fruit trees.
The drought is now biting harder in Ahilyanagar district. In Pathardi taluka, people are having to plead for water as early as October. The future of thousands of fruit trees on 65 acres in Pirewadi hangs in the balance, as only 15 to 20 days of water is left there.
A large orchard of thousands of fruit trees stands on the 65-acre farm in Pirewadi. The rain has failed completely this year. As a result, wells in the area have dried up entirely and borewells have also stopped yielding water.
The orchard has 4,500 mango trees, 1,200 custard apple trees and 350 coconut trees. The farm pond has a capacity of 30 million litres (3 crore litres), but the water now left will last only 15 to 20 days.
The question before the farmers is where to find water for an orchard this large from October to May, a stretch of seven to eight months. There is no sign of any arrangement for water.
The farmers fear that 14 years of work will be lost. Trees raised like children over the years have begun to wither before their eyes without water. If arrangements for water are not made in the next few days, the valuable orchard built up over the past 14 years could be lost for good. Thousands of trees may have to be cut down, and the farmers fear losses running into crores of rupees.
Santosh Garje of Pirewadi, one of the affected farmers, has made a single demand of the government. "We do not want any money from the government, just give us enough water so that these 14-year-old trees stay alive," he said.
The severity of the drought is growing by the day. The farmers are appealing for water to be delivered at once to the orchards in Pirewadi, by tanker or under a special scheme. They say that if help does not arrive in time, Pathardi's farming will suffer a huge loss that cannot be made good.
