Beed: Drought-Hit Georai Farmers Seek Permanent Water Pipeline, Submit Memorandum To Sunetra Pawar

Beed: Battling recurrent drought for generations, farmers from Georai tehsil have once again approached the state administration, seeking a permanent solution to the region’s chronic water crisis.

In a memorandum submitted to Deputy Chief Minister and Guardian Minister Sunetra Pawar, a delegation of farmers and activists demanded that surplus water from the Godavari river basin and the Paithan Right Bank Canal be diverted to key local reservoirs through dedicated lift pipelines or sub-canals.

The delegation identified six critical reservoirs in Georai tehsil — Chaklamba, Shekta, Bangali Pimpla, Gorakshnath Kumbhajalgaon, Govindwadi and Georai.

According to the farmers, replenishing these reservoirs even once could help sustain local water bodies, streams and groundwater levels for up to three consecutive years.

“Generations of farmers here have been scorched by relentless drought,” the memorandum stated, adding that supplying water through pipelines from Shahagad, Panchaleshwar or Gulaj could bring thousands of hectares of parched and remote farmland under irrigation.

The farmers also argued that a permanent pipeline project would reduce the government's recurring expenditure on drought relief. Each drought cycle requires the state to spend crores of rupees on water tankers, cattle camps and temporary drinking-water arrangements, they said.

The demand is not new. Local farmers said they have been petitioning the state government since 2012 and submitted records of previous agitations, memorandums and unfulfilled administrative assurances along with their latest representation.

Copies of the memorandum were also submitted to the Chief Minister, Water Resources Department, local representatives and community leaders. The delegation included farmer activist Manoj Patil, Laxman Aaher, Irshad Bhai, Abasaheb Aaher, Ramchandra Kale, Balasaheb Aaher and Machhindra Karbhari, representing farmers from Khalegaon and surrounding villages in Georai tehsil.