Over 2377 distress calls received as floods wipe out farmers’ livelihoods

Over 2,377 calls have poured into the Shivar Helpline in just five days, painting a grim picture of devastation. Families in Nanded’s Mohar, Lohgaon, Hatgaon, Dagad Sanghvi, and Dhanura villages battled chest-high water levels, trying to salvage whatever they could—most lost everything overnight.

“One call came from a 12-member household in Dharashiv, Osamabad, which earned nearly Rs 1 lakh a month from grapes and maize,” says Vinayak Hegana, head of Shivar Sansad, an NGO founded in 2014 to support farmer welfare. “Seventeen cattle, 20 goats, 150 chickens… everything is gone. Grain, machines, vehicles, and household goods swept away. The soil is left lifeless. The farmer sobbed over the phone, saying, “I don’t know how we will start again.”

In Jalgaon, Khandesh, a woman described wading through knee-deep water to save her children and parents while her husband remained unsure of the next steps. “There’s no government support, and our crops were never insured. We don’t know where to turn,” she told the helpline.

In Mukhed, a 46-year-old farmer lost his three-acre farm near the Lendi dam. “The floods stripped away the fertile topsoil. I can’t plant anything now. My children’s education will suffer, and my debts are already too high,” he said. At least 27 families in his area face similar devastation. Non-farming landowners reported losses too—one official in Manjra estimated Rs 5–7 lakh additional losses on top of Rs 10 lakh loans he has to pay after floods destroyed 1.5 acres of soybean fields.

Farmers in Akola complained that flood warnings arrived too late, citing misaligned instruments. Dairy farmers reported massive livestock losses: 40 buffaloes and 15 cows in Nanded, 37 cows and 20 goats in Dharashiv’s Telgaon Pimpalgaon village. Under current NDRF rules, compensation covers only three large animals per farmer, leaving most undercompensated.

Shivar Sansad, led by social entrepreneur Vinayak Hegana, operates with a network of 3,621 volunteers across 31 districts. Its approach combines counseling, real-time problem analysis, solution proposals, and policy advocacy. Cases are prioritized using the Farmers Distress Questionnaire Index (FDQI), ranking distress as high, moderate, or low.

Beyond immediate relief, Shivar has developed the Farmers Suicide Prevention Pyramid Model, which focuses on prevention, rehabilitation, and sustainability. For farmers’ mental health and well-being, their methodology integrates research, policy, implementation, and advocacy. In 2018, the NGO introduced the Agro-Psycho-Social Intervention Model, and since then, the helpline has addressed 10,374 distress calls and successfully prevented 198 farmer suicides in Maharashtra. Their work has been recognized by NITI Aayog in 2019.

“A farmer losing crops or livestock is not just losing income; he is losing hope, his family’s future, and stability,” Hegana explains. Distress often extends beyond agriculture, affecting education, healthcare, and family obligations. In one recent case, the NGO helped a father get urgent treatment for his eight-year-old daughter with severe diabetes.

Past disasters still haunt the farming community. The 2022 Lumpy Skin Disease outbreak killed 11,547 cattle, left many uninsured, and highlighted gaps in compensation. Shivar Sansad continues to guide farmers through schemes, resolve disputes, and advocate for reforms at ministerial levels, ensuring no voice goes unheard.

“What we are building is more than a helpline; it’s a safety net for Maharashtra’s farmers,” Hegana says. “Suicide or leaving agriculture is not the solution. With guidance and timely support, there is always a way forward.”