Pune: Crop-loss panchanamas will begin across Maharashtra from Tuesday following widespread damage to kharif yields caused by prolonged gaps in rainfall, state agriculture minister Dattatray Bharne said on Monday.“State govt is supporting farmers and will provide all help. The panchanama is a mandatory procedure that we have to undertake. However, our intention is to help every affected farmer. The state is also planning fodder camps in the drought-affected regions to protect livestock,” he told the media in the city.Opposition netas Rohit Pawar and Rajesh Tope, however, demanded immediate relief for farmers, arguing that panchanamas were unnecessary in areas where crops had suffered complete loss. They urged the state to provide blanket assistance without waiting for the formal assessment process.“The immediate relief to farmers should be the first and foremost task for govt. It should be extended before Diwali so that they can sustain themselves during the coming rabi season,” said NCP’s Pawar who represents Karjat-Jamkhed in the Assembly. Pawar has been touring the affected districts in Vidarbha and Marathwada for the last two weeks.Farmers and activists said the situation was worsening as cultivators faced losses after spending heavily on seeds, fertilisers and cultivation. They also called for immediate arrangements for fodder and water for livestock.“In many fields, there is nothing left to assess. Crops have completely dried up and we need immediate financial assistance,” said farmer activist Shantaram Sarvade from Khed tehsil.“Our crops have failed, but our cattle still need fodder. Fodder camps should start immediately,” said an affected farmer.Farmers in eight drought-affected tehsils of Pune district also want immediate panchanamas of their crops. “We do not know when this process is going to begin. If they do it early, they would be able to assess the ground situation early. Otherwise, they would not properly understand the losses,” said Sarika Ingle, a farmer from Shirur tehsil. Shirur has so far experienced a rainfall gap of 51 days.“There is hardly anything left to assess in many fields. The crop has dried up and the money we spent on seeds, fertilisers and cultivation has already been lost,” said Santosh Kolpe from Daund tehsil.Farmers’ activists said assistance needed to reach cultivators before they were pushed further into debt. They urged govt to use available field-level information to provide interim relief while completing the formal assessment required for compensation and other schemes.Vaibhav Tambe, district agriculture officer, told TOI, “We will initiate panchanamas of the affected fields on Tuesday. We are preparing a comprehensive plan for the exercise in the eight drought-affected tehsils.”
