Latur (Maha), Aug 30 (PTI) Farmers in central Maharashtra's Latur district are facing a crisis due to a severe rainfall deficiency in August. The agriculture department has also received several complaints about substandard soybean seeds, officials said.

As August witnessed a long dry spell, crops are withering in many places, local sources said.

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As many as 368 farmers have complained to the agriculture department that the soybean seeds distributed to them did not germinate. Most of these farmers are from Ausa and Nilanga tehsils, said an official.

"So far 368 complaints regarding soybean not germinating have been received. Panchanama (spot inspection) of 342 places was conducted and 28 farmers were given new seeds. The rest of the panchanamas will be completed soon, " said district superintendent agriculture officer Shivsamb Ladke.

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In some cases farmers complained that they could not irrigate the fields using water from wells and borewells as the transformers of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) were not working and the power supply was erratic.

Farmer and activist Sudhir Salunkhe claimed that four transformers in Panchincholi and Anandwadi area burnt and farmers get electricity supply only for eight hours a day.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)