Raigad guardian minister orders crop-loss survey of all paddy fields

Mahad: The failure of the rains has brought drought to Raigad's paddy fields. Fields have cracked for want of water and paddy, the district's main crop, is turning yellow. Guardian minister Bharat Gogawale inspected damaged farms in Mahad taluka and ordered the administration to carry out panchnamas (loss assessments) of every paddy field in the district without delay and submit a detailed report.

Once the report is in, he told reporters, he will ask the chief minister and the deputy chief ministers to declare all the district's talukas drought-hit.

There are also fears of a water shortage. Mahad town, Poladpur and the Mahad MIDC industrial area all depend on the Ranbajire dam in Poladpur taluka. To make the water last, Gogawale met industrialists in the Mahad MIDC and urged them not to waste it.

The administration has decided that drinking water for residential areas will come first, followed by livestock and farming, with industry last. The industries' association responded positively and promised to save water.

Source: ETV Bharat