MUMBAI: Gangabhushan Thawre from Dindrud in Majalgaon taluka of Beed district in Marathwada, the region that had been reeling under severe drought for almost four years now, lodged a unique complaint against the weather bureau at the local police station on Friday.
Regional centres of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) at Mumbai and Pune gave wrong monsoon forecasts causing a grave loss to me and several other farmers across the state. This amounts to cheating and hence a case needs to be registered against the IMD, Thawre said in his complaint.
The met department had, in their long term forecasts in April and May, said that the rainfall this year would be above average. Depending on the forecasts, farmers bought expensive seeds and completed sowing. All that went to waste with no rains. Even after that the department forecasts said there would be rains in the next 48- 72 hours, Thawre said.
I suspect the met department has worked in collusion with the seed, fodder and pesticide companies, Thawre added in his complaint. Police must take cognizance of the complaint and lodge an FIR within two days.
If they fail to do so the farmers would march in protest to the police station, his statement said.
This is the first such incident in the country and hence the police have kept the complaint in abeyance for the moment.
Meanwhile, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana too has urged the state government to close down the met department.
“The CM had assured us that the government will work to give accurate weather forecasts to the farmers. However, the weather bureau of the government has not been able to give reliable forecasts.
This is a fraud and we have urged the state government to close down the department,” said Yogesh Pandey, spokesperson of the farmers’ body on Friday.