Pune: The drought-hit Kamkhera village in Beed taluka is all set to try rainwater harvesting, hoping it would end the dry spell. Half the wells in this village have dried up and villagers here have now invited Pune-based Paranjya to help set up two rainwater harvesting plants.

Paranjya, that has introduced several residential societies in Pune to rainwater harvesting as an effective technique to conserve water, will travel to Beed on May 13 to educate villagers on its benefits.

PUNE: The rising temperature and shrinking water stocks in Marathwada region has forced the authorities to increase water supply by tankers.

As many as 1,875 tankers are supplying drinking water to 1,646 villages and 749 hamlets in Marathwada. A week back, 1,413 villages and 743 hamlets were receiving drinking water from 1,733 tankers. Now 142 additional tankers have been deployed for supplying drinking water to 1,646 villages and 749 hamlets, stated the report of the Marathwada divisional commissionerate.

The Centre on Friday revised its foodgrains production estimate upwards by 5.22 million tonnes for 2012-13 over earlier expectation on account of higher output of rice, wheat and coarse cereals.

The total foodgrains output is now estimated at 255.36 million tonnes with wheat production pegged at 93.62 million tonnes and rice at 104.22 million tonnes.

Farmers in Namakkal district will get the entire drought relief fund of Rs. 56.11 crore.

“The package will benefit a total of 1,17,458 farmers who suffered crop or yield loss of more than 50 per cent on an area of 1,80,981 acres, as on January 2013”, Collector D. Jagannathan told The Hindu on Friday. An initial survey on the impact of the drought was conducted in January. A detailed report was submitted to the State Government and to a high level committee headed by Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam and five other Ministers.

Compensation to be credited to their savings bank accounts

The State government has sanctioned Rs.60 crore for the distribution of compensation to 1.28 lakh farmers who suffered more than 50 per cent crop loss due to drought, according to Collector N.Venkatachalam. Presiding over a special drought relief meeting at the Collectorate here on Thursday, he said crops on 1.83 lakh acres, including paddy covering 9,919 acres, were damaged.

The number of farmers suicides declined to 346 in 2011 from 565 in 2006 in Vidarbha region

The government today said 228 farmers committed suicide in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra because of agrarian distress during the April-January period of 2012-13 fiscal. "The number of farmers in the six identified suicide prone districts of Vidarbha region who committed suicide due to agrarian distress is 228 during the last 10 months till January 31, 2013," Minister of State for Agriculture Tariq Anwar said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The total area covered under the micro irrigation systems in the district has more than doubled during the last two years as many farmers are adopting effective water management practices in the wake of the drought.

In a period of three years starting from 2007-08, the farming community in the district installed drip and sprinkler systems to cover only about 3,500 hectares. But in the last two years, farmers installed micro irrigation systems covering more than 6,000 hectares.

Assessment by high-level committee based on interactions with farmers

A Rs.1,755-crore package of drought relief measures was unveiled on Friday for non-Cauvery delta districts in the State.
Of this package, six components were meant for about 17.9 lakh farmers, who had suffered over 50 per cent crop loss. The farmers, for a variety of crops, would receive a total compensation of Rs. 835.21 crore.