Nagpur: Gondia district administration has readied a fodder and water plan for 2026-27, estimating that the district’s 4.78 lakh livestock will need over one crore litres of water and nearly 2,000 tonnes of fodder every day if drought and scarcity set in this year.Gondia’s 4.78 lakh livestock include 2.47 lakh cattle and buffaloes, 33,724 young animals and 1.97 lakh goats and sheep. Gondia taluka has the most, at 1.12 lakh, followed by Tirora at 1 lakh, while Arjuni Morgaon has the fewest, at 28,421.Under govt norms for scarcity periods, a large animal needs 40 litres of water a day, a young one 15 litres and a goat or sheep 4 litres. By these norms, Gondia taluka needs the most water, about 27 lakh litres a day, followed by Tirora at 22 lakh and Goregaon at 12 lakh. The least, about 6 lakh litres, is needed in the taluka with the smallest herd.On fodder, cattle and buffaloes need 6 kg a day, young animals 3 kg and goats and sheep 2 to 3 kg. The district needs about 1,979 tonnes a day, or 59,378 tonnes a month. Fodder from field bunds, forest areas, fallow land, crop residue and the fodder development scheme is expected to total about 3.99 lakh tonnes. The plan says this looks more than enough, but green fodder runs very short in summer, and the administration has made special arrangements for it.The plan has five parts. The administration has sought Rs30 lakh more from govt to raise fodder output in the rabi season, and has proposed distributing fodder seed worth Rs50 lakh from District Annual Plan. Seed worth Rs6.52 lakh has been given out so far under Vidarbha-Marathwada dairy development project, and seed worth Rs2.63 lakh more will follow.With the forest department’s help, grass and fodder will be collected from forest areas. Farmers will get free seed of crops that need little water and grow fast, such as jowar, bajra, maize and berseem. Villages will get temporary water troughs and tankers, and tanks for livestock drinking water will be filled.Collector Mandar Patki said the administration kept the plan ready in Oct itself so that fodder camps do not have to be opened, and the animal husbandry department at the taluka level has been told to stay alert.Patki said, “Care has been taken that livestock do not suffer in the drought along with people.”Guardian minister Indranil Naik said additional funds have been planned from district planning after a recent scarcity review meeting.Naik said, “Attention is also on the measures the state govt will implement in the coming period. In the district, care has been taken of citizens, farmers and livestock.”
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