Renowned economist, H M Desarda on Sunday said that Marathwada is no more a drought-prone area, but has become a disaster-prone area. The central and state governments will have to think outside the box to deal with regional problems on the backdrop of the recent hailstorm and unseasonal rain in the region.

The recent seasonal changes have resulted in heavy loss of agricultural produce. Almost 100% of the standing 'tur' and gram crops were destroyed in some areas. Horticulturists also incurred heavy losses.

In the summer of 2013, however, the region was reeling under severe drought. The region's water bodies had dried up causing stupendous loss to farmers.

Desarda said that the region's climatic conditions are rapidly changing. "It is a global phenomenon, where drastic climactic changes are occurring everywhere... Modern lifestyle and overexploitation of resources are responsible for this."

"The government cannot restrict itself to merely making provisions for water at the time of scarcity. It will have to focus on eradication of unemployment, poverty and illiteracy from the region. This will lead to people's participation in sustainable development," the economist said.

Highlighting the need to provide financial security to farmers, Desarda said that the government should implement a 'crop insurance' scheme. "Farmers must be adequately compensated for loss in agricultural produce," he added.

Desarda, who recently took charge as the co-ordinator of the Drought Mitigation and Water Resources Management Centre of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, said that the centre is focusing on three major areas - micro-watershed development, data collection, and training to district-level functionaries. "We plan to provide training to the forest department and technical staff in the agriculture department and staff in local civic bodies to make judicious use of resources," he said.

Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/