Cloud-seeding Operations Fail in Maharashtra; Marathwada May Face another Drought Year

As the Maharashtra government’s cloud-seeding efforts are not showing the desired results, the water crisis in the Marathwada region of the State that comprises 8 districts, is becoming alarming.

While around 1.87 crore population suffered a severe drought last year, is yet again expecting the same situation this year. Dams in the region remain dry and many sugar mills are not in a position to start crushing due to the lack of cane availability. 

With all districts receiving 12-43 percent less than average rainfall for this time of the year, the region continues to experience a deficient monsoon. Though 90-95 percent of Kharif sowing has been completed, farmers are left in the lurch with rains deficiency in the region. 

Major crops, including maize, soya bean, cotton, mosambi, pulses, groundnut, and sugarcane, have suffered a lot due to rain deficiency. As per reports, dams in the region have total storage of 30 percent where about 1,168 water tankers are playing in the region to quench the thirst of more than 1,000 villages. 

“The government has started the cloud-seeding experiment, but the results are not positive. The agency appointed for cloud-seeding is its best, but now we are not sure if the experiment will be successful,” said one of the authorities associated with the experiment. 

Every year an estimated 15 lakh small and marginal farmers leave Marathwada after sowing to work as cane cutters in the sugar belt of western Maharashtra. The deficiency in the rain is propagating the local farmers for migrating to a different place. Government authorities said that if the rain continues to skip the region, the number of people migrating to other parts of the State might double.