More villages slide towards drought
The drought situation in Maharashtra seems to be getting grimmer by the day. While the Congress-NCP government has declared 159 tehsils as drought-affected, another 100 or so tehsils are facing drought-like situation.
By Abhiram Ghadyalpatil, ET Bureau |
MUMBAI: The drought situation in Maharashtra seems to be getting grimmer by the day. While the Congress-NCP government has declared 159 tehsils as drought-affected, another 100 or so tehsils are facing drought-like situation. The latest bulletin put out together by the state irrigation department and the Pune-based agriculture meteorology (Agrimet) department says 120 tehsils in the state have received only 60-80% of their average rainfall.
A senior Agrimet official, who did not wish to be named, however, told ET that the situation could be much more serious than the numbers show. ���These are indicative figures. The bulk of these tehsils have reported between 60% and 68% rainfall, which means they are just above the scarcity mark,��� the official said.
The Agrimet data indicate the state is in the throes of a full-scale drought. Till August 19, the state has received only 543 mm of rainfall, which is 70% of its average rainfall for this period. Six districts ��� Latur, Osmanabad, Nanded, Parbhani, Hingoli, and Yavatmal ��� have reported 50% deficiency in rains. Barring Yavatmal in Vidarbha, the remaining five districts are in Marathwada.
���Reservoirs in Marathwada have only 7% of water. The situation in Marathwada is more critical because water availability has been showing a downward trend since 2007. It was 14% in August 2008 and 41% in August 2007,��� an irrigation official said.
Another indicator of the seriousness of the matter is that only seven districts ��� Aurangabad, Jalna and Beed in Marathwada, Washim, Wardha, and Chandrapur in Vidarbha and Solapur in Western Maharashtra ��� have reported more than 60% rainfall.
���Six districts have had less than 50% rainfall and 7 districts more than 60%. So 13 of the 34 districts in the state are in a critical situation. Not counting Mumbai city and its suburban districts, which are not agriculture regions, a little less than half the 32 districts are in crisis,��� said the official.
A 30-50% deficiency in rainfall across the state has made a severe impact on kharif sowing. Of the 299 tehsils which predominantly grow kharif crops, 71 have reported over 50% deficit in average rainfall and another 48 tehsils only 50-60% of their average. While only 24 of the total 355 tehsils in the state have exceeded 100% rainfall, 112 tehsils reported 20-40% deficiency in rains.
Though the 128.46 lakh kharif acreage in Maharashtra has reported 100% sowing, the Agrimet report says frequent and prolonged dry-spells have crippled the growth of crops.
���The growth of kharif crops has been stunted due to deficient rains in Amravati, Aurangabad and Latur divisions. Elsewhere also, crops are wilting,��� the report says.
Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti said the cotton and soyabean growing regions of Vidarbha have received only 40% of their average rains. ���The dry spell, coupled with pest attack, has damaged about 50% of cotton and soyabean crops in Vidarbha,��� he said.
A senior Agrimet official, who did not wish to be named, however, told ET that the situation could be much more serious than the numbers show. ���These are indicative figures. The bulk of these tehsils have reported between 60% and 68% rainfall, which means they are just above the scarcity mark,��� the official said.
The Agrimet data indicate the state is in the throes of a full-scale drought. Till August 19, the state has received only 543 mm of rainfall, which is 70% of its average rainfall for this period. Six districts ��� Latur, Osmanabad, Nanded, Parbhani, Hingoli, and Yavatmal ��� have reported 50% deficiency in rains. Barring Yavatmal in Vidarbha, the remaining five districts are in Marathwada.
���Reservoirs in Marathwada have only 7% of water. The situation in Marathwada is more critical because water availability has been showing a downward trend since 2007. It was 14% in August 2008 and 41% in August 2007,��� an irrigation official said.
Another indicator of the seriousness of the matter is that only seven districts ��� Aurangabad, Jalna and Beed in Marathwada, Washim, Wardha, and Chandrapur in Vidarbha and Solapur in Western Maharashtra ��� have reported more than 60% rainfall.
���Six districts have had less than 50% rainfall and 7 districts more than 60%. So 13 of the 34 districts in the state are in a critical situation. Not counting Mumbai city and its suburban districts, which are not agriculture regions, a little less than half the 32 districts are in crisis,��� said the official.
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A 30-50% deficiency in rainfall across the state has made a severe impact on kharif sowing. Of the 299 tehsils which predominantly grow kharif crops, 71 have reported over 50% deficit in average rainfall and another 48 tehsils only 50-60% of their average. While only 24 of the total 355 tehsils in the state have exceeded 100% rainfall, 112 tehsils reported 20-40% deficiency in rains.
Though the 128.46 lakh kharif acreage in Maharashtra has reported 100% sowing, the Agrimet report says frequent and prolonged dry-spells have crippled the growth of crops.
���The growth of kharif crops has been stunted due to deficient rains in Amravati, Aurangabad and Latur divisions. Elsewhere also, crops are wilting,��� the report says.
Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti said the cotton and soyabean growing regions of Vidarbha have received only 40% of their average rains. ���The dry spell, coupled with pest attack, has damaged about 50% of cotton and soyabean crops in Vidarbha,��� he said.
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