Rain continued to batter Maharashtra’s Marathwada and Western Maharashtra on Tuesday (September 23, 3035), leaving dozens stranded in floodwaters. In the last four days, at least five people lost their lives, while over 150 villages were affected due to heavy rainfall. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra cabinet has approved ₹2,215 crore to help 31.54 lakh farmers who were affected by the heavy rainfall. The most affected districts in Maharashtra are Dharashiv, Beed, Solapur, and Ahilyanagar. The situation could be critical in the coming days as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall for the next 48 hours. According to IMD, a fresh spell of heavy to very heavy rainfall over the areas of Madhya Maharashtra is very likely during September 25 to 29. At least 18 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed across the region, while the Army has been mobilised in Solapur and the Dharashiv district for search and rescue (SAR) operations. “Around 320 people were rescued in the rescue operation since last night. The assistance is also extended to move domestic animals to safer locations,” said NDRF inspector Pankaj Chaudhary. In the Sadas Chinchole area of Majalgaon tehsil and other regions in Beed, the NDRF team rescued 39 people, including a newborn baby and the mother trapped in rising floodwaters. 182 people were rescued from Dharashiv District’s Kapilapuri, Lakhi, Vadner, and other villages, where they were trapped inside their homes due to severe flooding. NDRF teams rescued 82 people in Solapur and 17 people in Ahilya Nagar District to safe locations. A team from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) evacuated 160 families, as per the CMO. State Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan on Tuesday called the situation “grim” and stated that the region had never recorded such rainfall in the last 50 to 70 years. “The government has made arrangements, including food and shelter for rescued citizens,” he added. According to the information from the Southern Command, the Army airlifted 27 stranded citizens by helicopter. On Tuesday, another helicopter was dispatched in coordination with the Southern Command to Beed and Dharashiv. “Excess water is being released from the Dhalegaon High Level Dam in Parbhani district into the Godavari river basin, and the Godavari river is flowing above the warning level, creating a flood situation”, as per the CMO. In the last 24 hours, Beed has received 65 mm of rainfall, followed by Dharashiv 51.7 mm, Parbhani 46.4 mm, and Ahilyanagar 44.6 mm. “The Marathwada region, comprising eight districts, has received 975 mm of rainfall in the last four to five days, which was 102% of the average rainfall, stated Chief Minister Fadnavis. In Marathwada, where the economy mostly runs on farming, the farmers are most impacted as their crops, including soya bean, corn, tur dal, and urad dal, were standing in the fields. During the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the government reviewed the rain situation and discussed the impact on farmers. Mr. Fadnavis announced that ₹2,215 crore has been approved for farmers’ relief, and also decided to relax the norms. “The financial aid of ₹2,215 crore has been issued to 31.64 lakh farmers. Of that, ₹1,829 crore is disbursed, and the rest will be transferred to farmers in the coming 8 to 10 days,” he said, adding, “The Panchnamas have already started, and district Collectors have the right to distribute relief for death, loss of livestock, and damage to houses.” However, farmers from Marathwada said this is “not enough”. Ashok Pawar, a farmer from Dharashiv, said, “On average, a farmer will get ₹8,500 per hectare. Is it enough? My cost of sowing soya beans is 1.5 lakh hectares alone. To clean my damaged land alone, it will cost me ₹6,000 per day for labour. What about farmers’ Diwali?” Mr. Pawar says, “I own 30 acres, so I am in a condition to manage the losses, think about the small farmers with 1 to 5 acres.” He also predicted that the sugarcane crop would increase in Marathwada due to the risk factor. Another farmer from Nanded, Sandeep Deshmukh, said, “It will take me 4 to 5 years to revive the fertile layer of my land and get the same productivity as now. No one is talking about that. I am worried about the loan and repayments.” Meanwhile, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders, Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray, and NCP-SP Chief Sharad Pawar have asked the government to quicken the process of assisting farmers who have suffered losses due to heavy rains. Mr. Thackeray asked the government to announce a package of ₹10,000 crores for farmers, and to ask banks not to deduct the EMI instalment from their accounts.