Marathwada Villages

At least 13 people died in heavy showers, floods and lightning in parts of Maharashtra with the Marathwada region bearing the brunt of rain fury, while more than 40 stranded villagers were rescued.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said his government was planning to ensure piped drinking water supply in every village of the parched Marathwada region through a water grid.

Farmers from a village in Marathwada region have filed a police complaint against the India Meteorological Department, accusing it of colluding with seed and pesticide manufacturers and inflating the monsoon forecast figures.

Farmers from a village in Marathwada region today filed a police complaint against the India Meteorological Department, accusing it of colluding with seed and pesticide manufacturers and inflating the monsoon forecast figures.

In stark contrast to what they were just a week ago, partially-filled nullahs and replenished wells can be seen across Kalegaon village in Maharahstra's drought-hit Beed district.

To commemorate its 11 years of operations, budget airline SpiceJet on Tuesday said it has partnered with an NGO to supply nearly 71,500 litres water to 11 villages in drought-hit Latur district under Marathwada region of Maharashtra every day.

The BJP-led Government in Maharashtra has declared drought in over 29,000 villages of the state, mostly in parched Marathwada and Vidarbha regions where the grim situation was earlier described as 'drought-like.'

Even in Latur's blistering heat, Shyam Barure has to ensure the work goes on. The rains are less than two months away and the 27 km nallah (drain) has to be widened and desilted in time.

As thousands of villages in the country come under the grip of drought, the role of the government's flagship work guarantee scheme, NREGA or National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, becomes crucial.

In the face of insurmountable odds, 56-year old Ram Sonawane, a farmer in the Sheri Budruk village in Maharashtra's drought-hit Beed district has all but given up. His single acre field has been lifeless for years now.

In the scorching summer of drought-hit Marathwada, it's a fight just for two buckets of water. At the Khuntefal village in Maharashtra's Beed district, about 2000 people rely solely on water tankers that come once in four days. The water they receive is dirty and frothy, but they have no other choice.

When a 40-year-old debt-ridden farmer in Jalna district of Marathwada region kept 'inviting' people in his village for his 'last rites', little did they know that he wasn't joking.

A Central team is on a two-day visit to Maharashtra to assess the damage in drought-hit areas, after the state government sought a relief package of Rs 4,000 crore from the Union government. The state had earlier declared drought in 15,747 villages across Maharashtra.

A whopping Rs 400 crores - that's how much Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' office said people have willingly donated to the Maharashtra government's ambitious project Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan to make the 25,000 villages in the state drought-free by 2019.

Politically-connected sugar barons like Bapurao Patil seem insulated from the turmoil roiling the countryside. Behind him was parked a gleaming Mercedes SUV, an incongruous sight in a village of tiny lanes and low-slung brick and mud homes.

At least 13 people died in heavy showers, floods and lightning in parts of Maharashtra with the Marathwada region bearing the brunt of rain fury, while more than 40 stranded villagers were rescued.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said his government was planning to ensure piped drinking water supply in every village of the parched Marathwada region through a water grid.

Farmers from a village in Marathwada region have filed a police complaint against the India Meteorological Department, accusing it of colluding with seed and pesticide manufacturers and inflating the monsoon forecast figures.

Farmers from a village in Marathwada region today filed a police complaint against the India Meteorological Department, accusing it of colluding with seed and pesticide manufacturers and inflating the monsoon forecast figures.

In stark contrast to what they were just a week ago, partially-filled nullahs and replenished wells can be seen across Kalegaon village in Maharahstra's drought-hit Beed district.

To commemorate its 11 years of operations, budget airline SpiceJet on Tuesday said it has partnered with an NGO to supply nearly 71,500 litres water to 11 villages in drought-hit Latur district under Marathwada region of Maharashtra every day.

The BJP-led Government in Maharashtra has declared drought in over 29,000 villages of the state, mostly in parched Marathwada and Vidarbha regions where the grim situation was earlier described as 'drought-like.'

Even in Latur's blistering heat, Shyam Barure has to ensure the work goes on. The rains are less than two months away and the 27 km nallah (drain) has to be widened and desilted in time.

As thousands of villages in the country come under the grip of drought, the role of the government's flagship work guarantee scheme, NREGA or National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, becomes crucial.

In the face of insurmountable odds, 56-year old Ram Sonawane, a farmer in the Sheri Budruk village in Maharashtra's drought-hit Beed district has all but given up. His single acre field has been lifeless for years now.

In the scorching summer of drought-hit Marathwada, it's a fight just for two buckets of water. At the Khuntefal village in Maharashtra's Beed district, about 2000 people rely solely on water tankers that come once in four days. The water they receive is dirty and frothy, but they have no other choice.

When a 40-year-old debt-ridden farmer in Jalna district of Marathwada region kept 'inviting' people in his village for his 'last rites', little did they know that he wasn't joking.

A Central team is on a two-day visit to Maharashtra to assess the damage in drought-hit areas, after the state government sought a relief package of Rs 4,000 crore from the Union government. The state had earlier declared drought in 15,747 villages across Maharashtra.

A whopping Rs 400 crores - that's how much Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' office said people have willingly donated to the Maharashtra government's ambitious project Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan to make the 25,000 villages in the state drought-free by 2019.

Politically-connected sugar barons like Bapurao Patil seem insulated from the turmoil roiling the countryside. Behind him was parked a gleaming Mercedes SUV, an incongruous sight in a village of tiny lanes and low-slung brick and mud homes.