Rain vanishes in Nashik district, 54 farm circles dry for over three weeks

Rain has failed for a long stretch in Nashik district, putting the entire kharif season in trouble. According to circle-wise data up to September 15, 54 agriculture circles in 11 talukas of the district have not received rain for 21 days or more. In 15 of these circles, not a drop of rain has been recorded for over 40 days. This has put heavy pressure on kharif crops, with crops in several areas nearly withering. There are fears of a sharp drop in yield, causing worry among farmers, who are now waiting for government help.

Because of this long dry spell, circles with a gap of more than 21 days face the risk of losing the entire kharif crop. Crops sown relying on early rain are now on the verge of drying up due to lack of water, raising fears that the money farmers have invested will go to waste. Meanwhile, discussions on the drought situation have begun at the state cabinet level, and farmers' hopes are now pinned on the help the government provides.

Farmers in the district are watching what decisions the government takes on crop panchnamas, compensation for losses and drought relief. The impact of the rain shortfall is most visible in some circles. Umrane in Devla taluka has gone 45 days without rain, Mokbhangi in Kalwan taluka 40 days, Kaulane, Saundane and Nimgaon in Malegaon taluka 45 days each, Dabhadi 44 days, while Jategaon, Hisval Budrukh and Bhardi in Nandgaon taluka have each gone 45 days without rain.

Yevla and Sawargaon in Yevla taluka have recorded a 42-day gap, Patoda and Jalgaon 41 days, while Sinnar circle in Sinnar taluka has recorded a 40-day gap and Shaha circle 42 days. In Sinnar taluka, eight circles -- Sinnar, Shaha, Nandurshingote, Sonambe, Dubere, Wavi, Vadangali and Gonde -- have gone more than 21 days without rain. Of these, Shaha has a gap of 42 days, Sinnar 40, Sonambe 37, Vadangali 27, Nandurshingote, Dubere and Wavi 25 days each, and Gonde 23 days. This is also affecting the taluka's kharif crops.

Sinnar taluka agriculture officer Dnyaneshwar Nathe said that 8 out of the taluka's 12 agriculture circles have gone through a long dry spell of 21 to 40 days, as a result of which crops here have almost been lost. Even where some moisture remains, the yield is expected to fall by 40 to 50 percent due to the rain shortage.

Taluka-wise, Malegaon, Sinnar and Yevla each have 8 agriculture circles affected by a gap of more than 21 days. Nandgaon has 7, Baglan and Kalwan 6 each, while Chandwad, Devla and Nashik have 3 circles each. Dindori and Niphad have one circle each with a long dry spell. Malegaon, Sinnar and Yevla are the worst affected on this count.