Like other districts in Maharashtra, unseasonal rains have also damaged paddy and vegetable crops in the rural and coastal regions of Mira-Bhayandar in Thane district.
The worst hit are farmers from Uttan who have reported heavy losses due to water logging and bad weather being witnessed for the past couple of days. Sensing the seriousness of the situation, local municipal corporator- Sharmila Bagaji has sought the immediate intervention of the district authorities in conducting spot panchnamas (damage assessment exercise) and ensuring the provision of maximum assistance and compensation to the affected farmers.
“Deprived of any type of facilities and assistance, farmers of this rapidly urbanizing region are still striving hard to keep the tradition of farming alive. And now they have been left devastated again due to this unseasonal rain. I have met senior officials at the tehsil office in this context. The government should award compensation and bail these poor farmer’s out of this situation at the earliest.” said Bagaji.
While rains have played havoc with paddy crop in villages including- Rai, Murdha, Morwa, Ghodbunder and Chene, the coastal area of Uttan has been hit by a double whammy as apart from destruction of ready paddy in farmlands, vegetable crops including- Lauki ( Bottle Gourd) and Bhindi ( Lady Finger) have also been wiped away.
“We also cultivate tomatoes, brinjal, chilly, radish, spinach and amaranth leaves (lal maath) especially in the months of November and December as these vegetables need less water to grow. But due to intense water logging all these crops are bound to perish and farmers like me will be left behind with nothing but loss and an uncertain future.” lamented a teary eyed farmer.
People living in the coastal belt of Uttan largely rely on fishing and farming as their source of livelihood.
