Collector writes to 29,000 farmers to give up sugarcane

The collector of Latur has written personal letters to 29,000 farmers appealing to them not to grow sugarcane, which is being blamed as one of the biggest reasons for water woes in the drought-hit district.

District collector Pandurang Pole said, “Nearly 45,000 hectares of land in Latur is under sugarcane cultivation. Now this has come down to 28,000 hectares because of water scarcity.

The land suitable for sugarcane farming in Latur is actually only 7,000 hectares. While we are working to solve Latur’s water problem, it is also important that we reduce the land under sugarcane cultivation. Therefore, I have written personal letters to 29,000 farmers explaining why sugarcane cultivation should be stopped.”

When asked why the farmers would agree to give up sugarcane farming which gives them maximum returns as compared to other crops, Mr Pole said that the farmers have also realised its importance. “They are already facing the brunt of water scarcity. If they grow pulses, soyabean, vegetables etc, they can take two crops in a year. Therefore, we are also making efforts to get the cooperation of farmers to tackle water problems,” he said.

Latur attracted national attention after the district administration last month imposed Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code to bar assembly of more than five people around wells and water filling points to prevent possible violence.

The state government has also banned digging of borewells below 200 feet to check further depletion of ground water. Currently, Latur gets 50 lakh litres of water every day supplied by a special ‘water train’ filled at Miraj railway station.

At the Latur railway station, the water is decanted from the wagons into an 850-metre-long RCC pipeline. It is then released into a nearby well and from the well, it is lifted through a high-density plastic pipeline and sent to a water filtration plant.