E-Paper
Central team visits Pune to review drought situation
District collectors from drought-prone areas attended the review meeting via video conferencing and briefed the team on the ground situation
As part of the state is already facing a drought-like situation due to rainfall deficit, a Central government delegation on Tuesday visited Pune to take the review of severity of the losses faced by farmers. Priya Ranjan, the additional secretary of the agricultural department is leading the contingent that will visit drought-affected areas and meet farmers during the survey.
Reacting to the development, Ranjan said, “The team will visit the drought-prone areas and will meet farmers, elected members, and officers and try to provide relief to the citizens.”
He conceded that owing to meagre rainfall and a gap between rainy days, many crops have been adversely affected, and even the groundwater level has gone down drastically.
Divisional commissioner Saurabh Rao briefed the Central team about the drought situation in the Pune division.
During the meeting, Rao said, “Pune and Solapur districts were most affected in the Pune division. Almost 75 areas are critically affected in Pune district, while the number in Solapur district is around 100.”
Hemant Vasekar, the animal husbandry commissioner of Maharashtra, said, “The situation of the cattle feed in Maharashtra is critical. Statewide, 40 talukas are critical for animals, wherein there are 59.64 lakh cattle. We will require around 396 metric tonne fodder and significant water arrangement for these cattle.”
District collectors from drought-prone areas attended the review meeting via video conferencing and briefed the team on the ground situation.
