Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar drought assessment by central team

A central government delegation has arrived in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to assess extensive crop damage caused by severe drought. Led by Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department Joint Secretary Muktanand Agrawal, the team is inspecting ruined fields and interacting with distressed cultivators. The delegation includes representatives from NITI Aayog and the Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre.

Local farmers, facing the loss of soybean, cotton, and corn crops, are demanding immediate financial compensation of approximately Rs 60,000 per acre to help repay mounting debts. The crisis is compounded by reports of extreme farmer distress in the region, including instances of suicide linked to crop failure, debt, and delayed government subsidies for wells and housing.

District Collector Vinay Gowda G C stated that ground inspections will continue for several days before a formal report is submitted. Farmers are urging authorities to bypass lengthy bureaucratic formalities to provide swift monetary assistance and long-term water conservation projects, such as dams and barrages, to prevent future agricultural collapses.