Weeks after voting for the Lok Sabha elections and with months to go for the Assembly elections, Maharashtra’s ruling and opposition politicians have started taking stock of the drought stituation, billed as the worst in 47 years.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered all his Ministers — from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena — to go to the districts where they are appointed ‘Guardian Ministers’ and prepare detailed ground reports on the water crises.
Officials have also been asked to tour their respective districts and submit comprehensive reports by May 21.
These reports would include the exact status of water availability in some of the worst hit areas in Marathwada, Konkan and Vidarbha, Western and North Maharashtra. Around 21,000 villages in 151 tehsils across the state are in the grip of drought, covering almost half the geographical area of the State.
With water levels in all the big and small dams in these regions receding fast, Fadnavis is reviewing the status on a daily basis. He asked all Guardian Ministers and Secretaries to ensure prompt implementation of drought mitigation measures, including jobs under the Employment Guarantee Schemes for the affected people.
Not to be left behind, Opposition leaders too are out assessing the damage. NCP president Sharad Pawar has already started a two-day tour of Marathwada from Sunday. “The drought this year is worse than in 1972. Back then, people only wanted jobs. This time there are no jobs, no drinking water for man and animal, no water for farmland, crops and plantations have completely dried up,” Pawar said.