Hyderabad, Nov. 5 -- Roughly 15 million farmers in Maharashtra are getting anxious about the Rs 5,000 that the government promised as advance relief for their crops, which withered due to the extraordinary drought that has gripped the state. This relief is due by Diwali, as per a voluntary promise by the state, but that date is very close-Diwali season starts on Sunday, November 8, and extends to Wednesday next.

The government claims the direct transfers to the affected farmers have already begun but has refrained from publicising how much has been remitted and to how many daily. If that were done, the farmers' anxieties could be quelled to some extent because they would know the speed at which the government was delivering on its assura...