Marathwada: Drought, crop failure and farmer suicides. Those are the headlines emerging from Maharashtra's rain shadow region of Marathwada.
But as the monsoon sets in over the state, are there any lessons which farmers have learnt from the terrible droughts over the past four years in this rain shadow region? Some certainly have.
As we travel under an overcast sky in Beed district's Pendgaon village, in the middle of a field we come across a dam-like structure. Climb over the 20-foot high mud walls and one is greeted by a massive black sheet wherein lies the "lesson from the drought." Water.
Mr Dhat's water harvesting initiative is simply a massive pit, 70 feet by 70 feet in size and 40 feet deep with a holding capacity of 32 lakh litres. "That's enough. Once it fills up it will last for 18 months."
In Pendgaon itself, 25-year-old Sayyed Salim says he and his friends got together and made a stone and sand filter which will clean rain and waste water that can be reused.
However the full benefits can only be reaped if the monsoon does not play truant as has been the case for the past several years. And farmers are hoping the rain clouds will deliver this season.
But as the monsoon sets in over the state, are there any lessons which farmers have learnt from the terrible droughts over the past four years in this rain shadow region? Some certainly have.
As we travel under an overcast sky in Beed district's Pendgaon village, in the middle of a field we come across a dam-like structure. Climb over the 20-foot high mud walls and one is greeted by a massive black sheet wherein lies the "lesson from the drought." Water.
Mr Dhat's water harvesting initiative is simply a massive pit, 70 feet by 70 feet in size and 40 feet deep with a holding capacity of 32 lakh litres. "That's enough. Once it fills up it will last for 18 months."
Advertisement
In Pendgaon itself, 25-year-old Sayyed Salim says he and his friends got together and made a stone and sand filter which will clean rain and waste water that can be reused.
Advertisement
However the full benefits can only be reaped if the monsoon does not play truant as has been the case for the past several years. And farmers are hoping the rain clouds will deliver this season.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
PM Modi Inaugurates, Lays Foundation Of Railway Projects Worth Rs 85,000 Crore 1,023 Farmers Died By Suicide In Maharashtra's Marathwada In 2022: Official Maharashtra's Water-Starved Marathwada Region Records Excess Rainfall 150 mg Semen In Kolkata Doctor's Body, Suspect Gang-Rape: Parents To Court "Want To Ask Congress...": Mamata Banerjee Snaps At Ally In Rape-Murder Case "Reclaim The Night": Women Seek Justice In Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case NASA To Decide Stranded Starliner Astronauts' Route Home By End Of Month Mob Vandalises Hospital During Protest Over Kolkata Horror 8 Of Family Hospitalised After Consuming Wild Mushroom In Jharkhand: Cops Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.