India, Sept. 30 -- Pale yellow streamers trail from bridge railings, the branches of tall trees, and are strewn across roads everywhere - sugarcane stalks marooned five to six feet above ground. They are chilling reminders of the flood that has devastated Marathwada and large swathes of the state, after relentless rain battered the region for eight straight days.

Although the downpour has abated, the threat of more flooding looms as water continues to be released from dams and reservoirs such as Sina Kolegaon, Majalgaon, Jayakwadi and Manjara. At least four districts in Marathwada and a few in Western Maharashtra, particularly Solapur, are crippled.

Farmers in Bhum and Paranda in Dharashiv district, Mohol, Madha in Solapur, and Georai, ...