Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday, 5 September launched a stinging attack on both the Centre and the Maharashtra state government, accusing the ruling 'double-engine' dispensation of indifference as prolonged dry spells push an estimated 90 per cent of the state towards an acute drought crisis within the next two months. The opposition party sounded the alarm through its mouthpiece Saamana, warning that the rural economy faces an unprecedented collapse if immediate relief measures are not launched.

Scale of the Crisis

Rains have failed in 31 of Maharashtra's 36 districts, leaving standing crops scorched under extended heat. Up to 18 districts have missed a normal monsoon altogether, while large swathes of the state have endured a dry spell lasting 30 to 45 days. The Saamana editorial noted that even meteorologists reportedly underestimated the severity of the El Niño effect, which has also triggered similar dry conditions across more than 350 districts nationwide, raising alarms over impending shortages of food grains and drinking water.

How the Season Unravelled

According to the editorial, the monsoon arrived nearly 15 days late this year. A dry June gave way to heavy downpours in July, which pushed sowing back by a full month across key agricultural belts. Regions including Mumbai, Pune, Western Maharashtra, and Nashik received heavy isolated spells in July, but rainfall halted across the state from the first week of August and has not resumed since. The brief July relief had spurred crop growth — but just as crops entered their critical flowering stage, with soybean forming pods, cotton developing bolls, and maize growing ears, the water supply dried up entirely. Farmers who attempted to irrigate using accumulated July reserves from wells found those sources fully depleted.

Crops Devastated Across Vidarbha and Marathwada

The Saamana editorial highlighted that dryland farmers without irrigation infrastructure have suffered the most severe losses. Cash crops including soybean, cotton, maize, pigeon pea (tur), and turmeric have withered across lakhs of hectares. Pulse crops such as black gram (udid) and green gram (moong) are reported to be completely ruined. The traditional month of Shravan, which typically brings intermittent showers, passed without a single drop of rain in many parts — a phenomenon described as unseen in decades. Over 50 lakh hectares in Vidarbha and 48 lakh hectares in Marathwada were sown this season. Faced with withered crops, desperate farmers in several pockets have begun plowing over standing crops to prepare land for the upcoming Rabi season.

Fodder Crisis and Winter Crop Uncertainty

With early September passing without rainfall, anxiety is mounting over whether winter crops such as wheat and Bengal gram (harbhara) can even be planted. Fodder availability for cattle has simultaneously reached a critical stage, with farmers facing a severe dilemma over how to secure sorghum and maize fodder to keep livestock alive over the next seven to eight months.

Shiv Sena UBT's Demand

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has urged the government to immediately launch water management plans and pre-drought relief measures rather than, as the party alleged, operating in denial. The editorial questioned whether the 'double-engine' government — a term the ruling alliance uses to describe aligned governments at the Centre and state — genuinely cares about the unfolding agrarian calamity. With the Rabi season approaching and fodder stocks dwindling, the window for preventive intervention is narrowing rapidly.