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Business News/ Industry / Uttar Pradesh might declare drought soon
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Uttar Pradesh might declare drought soon

Failed monsoon results in 55% rainfall deficit in western Uttar Pradesh; sowing is completed in 95% of the land but crop survival is under threat

Besides Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, several other states including Punjab, Telangana, eastern Madhya Pradesh and Marathwada region of Maharashtra, are facing rainfall deficits of more than 20%. Photo: MintPremium
Besides Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, several other states including Punjab, Telangana, eastern Madhya Pradesh and Marathwada region of Maharashtra, are facing rainfall deficits of more than 20%. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, may declare a drought in the next few days after a survey showed severe rainfall deficit in many districts, a state government official said.

Although the monsoon deficit in India has narrowed to 11% of the long period average on 10 September, Uttar Pradesh continued to bear the brunt of drought-like conditions.

The overall rainfall deficit in the ongoing Kharif season is as high as 55% in western Uttar Pradesh, the highest among all meteorological sub-divisions in the country. In eastern parts of the state, the deficit is 43%.

“Although sowing has been completed in 95% of the area, the survival of crops remains a cause of worry. In western Uttar Pradesh, farmers are somehow managing with irrigation facilities like tubewells and canals, but we are unsure of the yields," said Debasish Panda, principal secretary, agriculture in the state government.

Haryana declared a drought on 2 September and sought central assistance of 4,830 crore. As on Wednesday, the state was facing an overall rain deficit of 54%.

Haryana, along with Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh, is known as the bread basket of India.

Between 1 June and 3 September, 28 out of 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh faced scanty rainfall with deficits of over 60% of normal rain, India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) data show. In as many as 39 districts in the state, the deficit ranged between 20% and 59%. Going by these numbers, over two-thirds of state might be declared as drought-hit.

“Farmers had to re-sow their crops due to prolonged dry spells. In west Uttar Pradesh, they incurred higher costs to irrigate sugarcane and paddy crops with diesel pumpsets," said Dharmendra Malik, state spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, a farmer’s organization. “In Bundelkhand region, which is completely rain-fed and grows pulses, oilseeds and soyabeans, the farmers are under severe distress."

“The suffering of farmers has intensified further due to unpaid cane arrears," Malik said. Sugar mills in the state owe farmers 4,560 crore on sales from the last Kharif season.

On 8 September, the state government announced its decision to suspend recovery of all revenue dues and cooperative bank loans in drought-affected districts of the state.

“The districts which have received less than 50% rainfall are being identified to declare them as drought-hit and revenue realization in these districts will be kept under suspension till 31 March 2015," Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Alok Ranjan had said.

In western parts of the state, several farmers have committed suicide because of high indebtedness, said Krishna Pal Tomar, general secretary of All India Farmer’s Welfare Association. “In districts like Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat and Aligarh, the paddy crop is drying on the fields," he said.

The situation is worse in Bundelkhand—in Banda, Lalitpur, Jhansi, Mahoba and Jalaun districts.

“Several farmers have committed suicide in the recent past and families are resorting to distress migration. Most farmers are indebted to nationalized banks and waiving cooperative bank loans will not help farmers," said Gauri Shankar Bidua of Bundelkhand Kisan Panchayat.

Besides Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, several other states including Punjab, Telangana, eastern Madhya Pradesh and Marathwada region of Maharashtra, are facing rainfall deficits of more than 20%.

The sowing of Kharif crops have been completed in 98.6 million hectares on 5 September, marginally lower than the 102 million hectares sown by that time last year, according to data released by the farm ministry. While sowing of rice has been normal, acreage under thecoarse cereals, oilseeds and pulses are lagging.

How this will impact overall Kharif or autumn output of the country is yet to be seen. The agriculture ministry is expected to released the first advance estimate of crop production based on the sowing numbers this month.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sayantan Bera
Sayantan is a National Writer with the Long Story team at Mint, covering food and nutrition, agriculture, and rural economy. His reportage is based on granular ground reports, tying it with broader macroeconomic realities, with a sharp focus on people and livelihoods. Beyond rural issues, Sayantan has written deep dives on topics spanning healthcare, gender, education, and science.
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Published: 11 Sep 2014, 12:54 AM IST
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