Monsoon brings drought-like conditions to Shevgaon, no rain in three months

Shevgaon taluka in Ahilyanagar district is facing severe drought-like conditions even during the monsoon season this year. Rain has stayed away for the past three months, leaving farmers in deep distress.

Standing crops in the fields have begun to wither, wells and other water sources are drying up, and the question of fodder and drinking water for livestock is turning more serious by the day. With such alarming conditions despite this being the rainy season, farmers are gripped by fear over what will happen in the summer ahead. In several areas, the kharif crop has been badly damaged, and farmers are worried about whether they will even recover the money they spent on farming.

This year, farmers had to celebrate the Pola festival in a very muted manner. The festival is meant to express gratitude towards bullocks, which are an important part of a farmer's life, but the water, fodder and crop crisis meant the festive spirit was missing in many places.

As they grapple with the situation, farmers are also questioning the role of political leaders. Farmers say local leaders including MLA Monica Rajale, MP Nilesh Lanke, former MP Sujay Vikhe, former MLA Chandrashekhar Ghule and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Pratap Thakane have not visited the fields themselves to inspect the grim conditions.

Farmers are angry that leaders who reach their fields to seek votes during elections are nowhere to be seen when farmers are in crisis. They are also asking who will actually visit the fields to assess the severity of the drought, rather than measuring it only on paper in administrative records, and press the government for concrete action. Standing crops are in crisis, fodder for animals is falling short, worries over drinking water are rising, and farmers say that if this is the situation during the monsoon itself, the crisis in the coming summer is frightening to imagine.

Farmers are demanding real help, not just assurances. They want the administration to immediately survey the drought-like conditions, carry out panchnamas, and take swift decisions on water supply, fodder availability and crop assistance. Their direct demand is that the administration and elected representatives act at once: that Shevgaon taluka be declared drought-affected, panchnamas be conducted for all affected crops, fodder camps or fodder depots be started immediately for livestock, and water tankers be deployed in villages facing water shortage. They also want elected representatives to aggressively press the government to ensure crop insurance payouts and government assistance are deposited directly into farmers' accounts. Farmers warn that nature has already turned its back on them, and if elected representatives do the same, the farmers of Shevgaon will not stay silent.