Mahotari, 26 Jul: Due to a weak monsoon this year, rice planting has been severely affected in Madhesh Province, which is known as the country’s grain basket.
According to the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture, and Cooperatives under Madhesh Province, only 47 percent of rice planting has been completed so far.
Farmers in Mahottari district are deeply worried as they have been unable to plant rice due to the prolonged lack of rainfall. Only about 30 percent of planting has been completed in the district.
Mahottari, which has 10 municipalities and 5 rural municipalities, has a total of 71,570 hectares of arable land, of which farming is usually carried out on 64,977 hectares.
Although farmers in the northwestern parts of the district have managed to plant rice on 25 percent of land using motors, diesel pumps, rivers, ponds, wells, shallow wells, and tube wells, the overall planting situation in the district is not satisfactory.
Due to the lack of rain, the rice seedlings are starting to dry out, and cracks have appeared in the fields where rice was sown with difficulty.
On the recommendation of the Madhesh Province government, the federal cabinet has declared the province a disaster-affected area for three months.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli visited the drought-affected areas of Madhesh yesterday. He observed the region via helicopter.
Prime Minister Oli is also scheduled to participate in programs in Mahottari and Bara districts, where he said he will speak directly with farmers.
The government has officially declared the entire Madhesh Province a disaster-affected area for a period of three months.
In Wards 7 and 8 of Matihani Municipality in Mahottari district, most of the fields remain dry, and cracks have developed even in the fields where rice was planted with the help of pump sets.
Mahto demands emergency relief measures in Madhesh
Chairman of the Rastriya Mukti Party Nepal, Rajendra Mahato, has called for the immediate implementation of emergency relief measures in the drought-affected Terai–Madhesh region. Following the government’s declaration of the area as a crisis zone, Mahato demanded urgent relief support covering food, drinking water, and medicines.
He also urged the government to waive farmers’ loans and provide free assistance packages including seeds, food supplies, and agricultural tools.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Mahato demanded uninterrupted electricity supply in the region and called for waiving charges related to drinking water, agriculture, and electricity.
He further requested the government to provide necessary equipment for irrigation and drinking water and to exempt customs duties on such items based on recommendations from local governments.
Stressing that the relief effort should be viewed not as a political issue but as a humanitarian crisis, Mahato urged both federal and provincial governments to rise above party interests and address the situation as a national responsibility.
Rajendra Mahato has called for immediate legal and executive action to halt the destruction of the Chure region and demanded the reconstruction of small reservoirs, ponds, and rainwater harvesting systems.
In his statement, Chairman Mahato said, “This is not just a natural disaster — it is the result of long-term state neglect, exploitation of water, forest, and land resources, and the imposition of a Western colonial development model.”
He pointed out that declining rainfall, minimal groundwater recharge, lack of irrigation infrastructure, and the uncontrolled exploitation of the Chure region have turned Madhesh into a water-scarce land. The drought, he noted, has not only affected agriculture but has also led to a shortage of drinking water, severely impacting the daily lives of people in Madhesh.
“This is not merely a water crisis — this is a crisis of existence,” he said. Mahato further criticized the government’s delay, political colonialism, and insensitivity, saying these have made the disaster even more severe.
He blamed the current situation on the systemic inequality and the mindset of treating the Terai–Madhesh region merely as a vote bank.
