Surviving the Drought: Inside the Cattle Camps of Maharashtra

In November 2018, drought was declared in 151 talukas of 26 districts in Maharashtra. Mann Taluka in Satara district was one of them. The prolonged drought had many consequences. One of them was the distress sale of cattle.

Spread over 100 acres, a cattle camp has been setup 4 kms away from Mhaswad town by Mandeshi Foundation. Around 3000 people from 70 villages of Mann Taluka have been staying at the camp for the past 6 months. Currently the camp is home for around 8000 cattle.

"We get fodder and water here. There is electricity too. I like staying here because of this. But in my village, there is nothing. We need to go 4-5 kms to fetch water. Because of that I used to miss school every alternate day" says Madhavi Lokhande, a resident at the cattle camp.

The situation back home is alike for everyone in the cattle camp. This is the second time in the past 5 years, the taluka is hit by a drought. Hanumantar Gaekwad, a staff at Mandeshi Foundation says that during the 2012 drought, there was some water left for survival. But this time around, all the water resources have completely dried up.

Watch the video to know how the camp has helped control the distress sale of cattle - a major source of livelihood for the rural population.