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Every time when farmers in Junnar, in Pune district go to their fields to water their crops they are not sure from where the leopard will pounce on them.
Wakalwadi villagers in Satara are wary of Russell’s vipers brought into fields by canal water. Cobra snakes are common visitors to fields. But farmers have no other option than to put their lives in danger as they could water crops only during night time because they get electricity supply only in dark.
Memorandum
Onion farmers in Nashik on Monday submitted a memorandum to government officials demanding electricity supply to water pumps during day time. “Giving water to crops during nights has become dangerous for farmers. They have to protect themselves from wild animals” said farmers in a memorandum.
“But it is not just wild animals but also electric shocks that have killed farmers. When we talk of farmer suicides we must also consider the number of death because of attack by wild animals, snake bites and electric shocks. Despite repeated demands, the State government has not streamlined agricultural electricity supply” said Shailesh Patil, spokesperson of the Maharashtra State Onion Growers Association.
He added that farmers can produce solar energy for their own consumption if the State government provides logistic support and concrete plan.
Sharad Ingale a farmer from Wakalwadi village in Satara says that government must provide gumboots to save themselves from reptiles. He insists that the government’s approach towards farmers reflects in the way farmers are treated.
Distant dream
Agriculture expert Nishikant Bhalerao who says that sufficient water supply, regular electricity and access to market still remain a distant dream for farmers.
Recently Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed Kisan Suryodaya Yojana wherein farmers in three districts in Gujarat will get electricity during the day instead of the night as the new dawn for Gujarat farmers. Maharashtra farmers continue to grope in dark waiting for dawn to arise in their fields.
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