Nationalist Congress Party, a partner in the Congress-led Democratic Front government in Maharashtra, expressed concern about the deficient rains and the resultant drought-like situation in the state.
“More than half a month has passed (since the onset of monsoon), but still there is no adequate rainfall in the state, which has resulted in an unprecedented situation,” NCP state president Madhukar Pichad said in a letter to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.
“Planning is needed about supply of water and foodgrains. Also, there is a need to seek appropriate funds from the Union Government,” he told PTI over the weekend.
Scarcity of water was not limited to the rural areas, but the water-levels in reservoirs (supplying water to cities and towns) too had gone down, Pichad said. “There would be water shortage in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur and other places,” he said.
As the farmers have to do a repeat sowing, government would have to consider giving seeds, and making available bank loans, the letter added.