With 27 of the 30 districts experiencing deficient rainfall this monsoon, Odisha government on Monday asked all district collectors to prepare block and panchayat-wise contingency plans and adopt alternate means of cultivation, officials said.
Between June 1 and August 23, Odisha recorded 30% deficit rainfall, receiving 583.7 mm rainfall against the long term average rainfall of 809 mm. As per officials at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the districts of Keonjhar, Boudh, Angul, Jajpur, and Bhadrak have recorded a severe deficit rainfall (shortfall of 39 to 59 per cent) during June 1 and August 23 while another 20 districts witnessed deficit rainfall (shortfall of 19 to 39 per cent).
Not a single district in Odisha recorded a surplus rainfall till now. However, 29 of the 314 blocks in the state are facing a drought-like situation as the land is losing its moisture due to scanty rainfall.
Chief secretary Suresh Mohapatra who chaired a review meeting of the agriculture and water resources department said though the state is yet to see a drought-like situation, moisture-stress conditions persist.
“The officials in the districts have been asked to emphasize three aspects. We have to make the best use of the existing irrigation projects. Agricultural workers will be provided jobs under MGNREGA or other state schemes if necessary. While 10 lakh person days of work has been generated so far, 20 lakh more person days of work would be created. All the irrigation facilities have to be kept running and uninterrupted power supply should be provided to all irrigation and water supply facilities. Besides, immediate power connection should be provided to newly set up lift irrigation points and borewells,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“The officials in the districts have been asked to emphasize three aspects. We have to make the best use of the existing irrigation projects. Agricultural workers will be provided jobs under MGNREGA or other state schemes if necessary. While 10 lakh person days of work has been generated so far, 20 lakh more person days of work would be created. All the irrigation facilities have to be kept running and uninterrupted power supply should be provided to all irrigation and water supply facilities. Besides, immediate power connection should be provided to newly set up lift irrigation points and borewells,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Agricultural department officials said though good rain in August was crucial for the sowed crops to grow up, Odisha received 50 percent less rainfall in August this year in comparison to last year. While paddy sowing this Kharif is down by nearly 6 lakh hectares, the total crop coverage, including Kharif pulses, cotton etc, has declined by nearly 7 lakh hectares.
“An IMD report said most districts in Odisha recorded negative Standardised Precipitation Index values during the period from June 1 to August 21. Negative SPI reveals a dip in soil moisture. “If the condition persists for a few more days, it would be difficult to save the crops,” said a senior official in the state agriculture department.
However, the opposition accused the government of not taking the situation seriously. “The government should immediately convene a meeting of natural disaster management committee and all party meet should also be called to discuss steps to combat drought,” said Ganeswar Behera, a Congress spokesperson. The BJP, meanwhile, decided to send 4 teams to visit drought-hit districts.
Though officially drought is yet to be declared, last week, the Sambalpur zilla parishad passed a resolution demanding that the district be declared drought-hit. In Ganjam district, villagers are catching frogs from the locality, bathing them with turmeric water and smearing vermilion on their bodies hoping that the ritual would bring rains.
Odisha had last experienced drought in 2018 in nine districts of the state, most of them from western Odisha where farmers suffered crop loss of 33 percent and above due to moisture stress in the districts. In 2015, at least 25 of the 30 district had experienced drought due to an erratic southwest monsoon.