Wai farmers watch crops wither beside a full dam as Diwali nears

Farmers in Wai taluka and the surrounding area have been badly hit by the weather this year. With the rain turning its back, many kharif crops, including paddy, beans, soybean, hybrid sunflower and sesame, withered just as they were about to be harvested. Paddy cultivation suffered heavy losses in several villages of the eastern part, and farmers can do nothing but watch the standing crop helplessly.

Diwali is at the doorstep, yet in many farmers' homes the festival brings worry rather than joy. Water is visible in the dam on one side, while crops dry up before the farmers' eyes on the other. In both the western and eastern parts of Wai taluka, the situation has come to be described as "dam at the head, dry throat": the dam is close by, yet the throat is parched.

Sugarcane farmers in the eastern part are also in a grave situation. They are waiting to see whether they will get the water that sugarcane and rabi crops need, and how the canal water will be distributed. Water is urgently needed to save the crops, but there is a deep feeling among farmers that the stored water is not being used for farming as much as it should be.

On 14 October 2026, the state government reviewed the various parameters of deficient rain and drought during the kharif season. Talukas where Trigger-1 and Trigger-2 were met have since been declared drought-hit. Under the Drought Management Code 2016, drought is assessed by looking at rainfall deficit, the length of dry spells and the actual impact on farming. Under Trigger-2, the actual impact of the rain deficit on agriculture is considered important.

The government has announced several measures for drought-hit talukas. They include concessions in land revenue, restructuring of crop loans, a suspension of recovery of agricultural loans, a rebate on electricity bills for farm pumps and a waiver of examination fees for students. It has been made clear, however, that actual financial assistance for crop losses will be decided by a separate government order.

On the government's instructions, revenue department teams are inspecting damaged fields and drawing up panchnamas. In Wai taluka too, the administration has inspected fields on site. Dr Yogesh Kharmate has issued instructions on behalf of the sub-divisional office that no account holder who suffered losses should be left out of the panchnama. Even so, the process from the panchnama to the money reaching the farmer's account needs to be made much simpler and faster, so that farmers can be free of the tangle of paperwork.