After devouring crops, Satara drought threatens cattle

After last year’s failed rainfall dried up most wells and the depeleting water table drove the hand pumps to a trickle, farmers in the nearly 200 villages in Mann and Khatav talukas in Satara are now struggling to save their cattle.

While both farmers and their livestock await government relief with parched throats, help it seems is lost somewhere in the not-so-unusual ways of bureaucracy and procurement glitches by local officials.

What has played a crucial role in driving the cattleheads to the brink is the huge failure of the rabi crop, thus denying them their regular fodder, with some already showing signs of succumbing like rapid loss of weight. But down with parched throats themselves, the farmers do not know where to look.

Given that the local fodder supply is exhausting at a fast rate, survival of the cattleheads depends largely on the help from outside, mainly the government, which declared the subsidised fodder scheme for drought-like districts of Satara, Sangli, Gondia and Nashik in December 2011. Initially, the scheme provided a 50% subsidy, which was soon increased to 75%, only to be further subsidised to 90% for BPL farmers and labourers of NREGA who work for 15 days a month.

“Cattle are most hit now,” accepts sarpanch Deepak Nalawade of Aundh, while confirming having recently received the second delivery of fodder ever since the scheme was announced. Only 10km away, Gopuj village is not so ‘lucky’, with its 400 villagers yet to see any government fodder. Gopuj sarpanch Shahjahan Mulani, who faces the ire of his fellow farmers on a daily over lack of both water and fodder supply. “All of us have deposited our share of Rs100 for 100kg fodder 25 days ago, but when we inquire with contractor every other day we are told to come after two-three days,” says Mulani.

The only place that has been offering some respite for the past 15 days is the cattle camp at Mhaswad village, which is currently accommodating nearly 300 farmer families of eight villages of Mann along with 2,200 cattleheads. The camp is lucky to receive three water tankers (72,000 litres in all) from the municipal council daily. Fodder, though not adequate, is also regular.

“There is no drinking water for humans. Most of us could not grow any crop this year, so fodder too is not there,” says Anjana Madne (45) of Pulkoti village who is put up in the camp.

While villagers feel administration failed to deliver, Mann tehsildar Jogendra Katiyare defends, saying the government cannot be 100% perfect. “Fodder depots are lying unused, as we are distributing it directly to villagers. While this has reduced the farmer’s cost of transportation, it is causing a delay in the delivery,” said Katiyare, adding that, “In all, 1,989tonnes of fodder has been distributed as against a demand of 2,736 tonnes.”

Pointing out to a huge demand-supply gap, Khatav tehsildar Sunil Sherkhane said, “We have requisitioned 1,450tonnes for a week, while we get just 90tonnes a day (540tonnes a week).” Though Katiyare claims to supply 72 tankers to 51 villages daily from the NRBC canal of Solapur, villagers say it is not enough for them, let alone their cattle.

As for the administration, the high altitude at which Mann and Khatav (600-700 m) are located as the main hurdle for lack of drinking and irrigation projects. Though Jihe Katapur and Urmodi dam water schemes are underway, they will take at least 1.5 years and six months respectively to begin.

However, activist-teacher Jayawant Kharade, who teaches at  Sri Waghidevi Vidyalaya in Aundh, prefers to tread with caution. “No one knows how many villages will actually be benefited through these schemes,” he says.