India, Oct. 6 -- Flood waters are receding after unprecedented rain wrought havoc on the lives of farmers in Marathwada and Western Maharashtra at the end of September. Now, the villagers are facing new challenges.

Thousands are struggling to salvage the tattered fragments of their lives - restoring homes destroyed or buried under mud and debris; grappling with scarcity of fodder for cattle that survived; and a local administration bracing for epidemics. In a double-whammy, farmers are unable to provide documented proof of their losses to claim compensation.

Dharashiv, Beed, Nanded, Latur in Marathwada, and Solapur in Western Maharashtra are the districts worst affected, with more than 150 villages witnessing crushing losses. Some taluk...