Drought Hits Shirur Villages; Walse Patil Directs Immediate Crop-Loss Panchnamas
Dilip Walse Patil visited drought-hit areas of Shirur taluka, including Morachi Chincholi, Kanhur Mesai, Dhamari and Pabal, and directed officials to immediately conduct panchnamas of damaged crops. Water scarcity and inadequate rainfall have left standing crops drying up, while the administration is carrying out crop-loss assessments across eight drought-affected talukas in Pune district.
Pune: Former Maharashtra minister and MLA Dilip Walse Patil visited drought-affected villages in Shirur taluka on Saturday, October 3, and directed officials to immediately conduct panchnamas of damaged crops so that affected farmers are not deprived of government assistance. Shirur is among eight talukas in Pune district declared drought-affected following deficient and uneven rainfall.
Walse Patil visited affected areas including Morachi Chincholi, Kanhur Mesai, Dhamari and Pabal, where farmers have reported crop damage due to severe water scarcity. During the field inspection, several standing crops were found drying up because of inadequate water availability.
Standing Crops Hit by Water Scarcity
Poor rainfall and prolonged dry spells have affected agricultural activity across parts of Shirur. Farmers cultivating crops such as soybean, potato and other seasonal produce are facing losses as irrigation sources come under pressure.
During his visit, Walse Patil interacted with farmers and sought information about crop conditions, water availability, fodder supply and the extent of agricultural losses.
Farmers told him that insufficient rainfall had made irrigation increasingly difficult and that standing crops had dried up in several areas.
The wider crop-loss assessment currently underway covers around 1.25 lakh hectares across eight drought-affected talukas of Pune district — Bhor, Velhe, Daund, Indapur, Purandar, Baramati, Shirur and Khed.
‘No Farmer Should Be Deprived of Assistance’
Taking note of the conditions, Walse Patil instructed officials to conduct accurate panchnamas of affected farms without delay and submit the reports to the government.
He said efforts would be made to secure maximum possible assistance for farmers from the government and administration, while stressing that eligible farmers should not be left out of the relief process.
The Pune district administration has separately directed officials to complete crop-loss assessments on priority so that reports can be forwarded to the state government for financial assistance and other drought-relief measures.