Background

Extreme weather events have been on the rise with climate change, and parts of India have been completely devastated due to the sheer impact of floods, cyclones, droughts, and storms. The state of Maharashtra is no exception to the heatwave that is ravaging the country and the resulting unseasonal rainfall has contributed to droughts, floods and landslides in the state, leaving many communities homeless, and causing the death toll to rise. 

The district of Beed in the Aurangabad division of Maharashtra is no exception to the devastating impacts of climate change. Beed is a predominantly agrarian region with many lives and livelihoods reliant on the sugarcane farming industry. However, Beed has also come to be equated with droughts, and the myriad issues this spells out for an agrarian society. 

This drought stricken land has further resulted in forced migration for the region’s residents, along with issues of access to clean drinking water, the health complications that follow, along with other sociocultural issues such as caring for the village’s elderly, gendered access to education, and lack of access to adequate medical infrastructure. It is thus that Beed manifests as a site of deep environmental degradation and highlights the disproportionate impact felt by communities of specific socioeconomic groups.