Drought has become an agonising ritual for Palamu, and this year has been no respite either. Once again, the crops in the district come to face yet another dry spell as chances of a good monsoon dwindle.
“We saw some rainfall in the initial period, but there has been none in the recent days. Even the rainfall recorded in Palamu by far has been a mere one-third of the required limit. According to the last reports from the district, upland paddy crops were in some crisis, but the danger passed after a brief spell of rainfall a week ago,” said Agriculture Dept Director Jatashankar Chaudhary. “But with winds changing direction and no cloud system which will lead to precipitation, we are facing another dry spell. The crops will be badly hit if there are no rains within the next ten days,” he said.
In light of the seemingly imminent drought, disaster control occupies the minds of district authorities. Palamu district administration is publicising measures to protect agricultural produce from further damage among the district’s farmers.
“We are employing various methods to advertise methods agriculturists can use to protect their crops from further harm due to water scarcity. Methods, like mixing urea with water and then sprinkling the solution on the crops, are being demonstrated to the farmers and promoted through promotional vehicles. We are asking,” stated Palamu DC K Shrinivasan.
Paddy crops is the district has been specially affected, but there is no space for introducing any alternative crops now as much time has already passed in the season, he stated.
Only after going through the reports, a definite decision can be taken about measures to tackle drought and its consequences in Palamu, stated Agriculture Minister Randheer Singh.
The question remains, why the chain can’t be broken. Reason is no water conservation practices and absence of alternative crops, said Chhatarpur MlA Radha Krishna Kishore.
“Groundwater levels are low all across Jharkhand. The district receives 700mm rainfall annually against the required 1200mm. Despite aware of the fact that Palamu falls in the rain-shadow area, no arrangements have been made yet to conserve this rainwater. The check dams built in the area have been not as effective as expected,” the BJP MlA said. He added, “I have talked with Chief Minister to take steps to ensure that smaller rivers in the state are dammed and alternative crops are introduced among the farmers here. The former step can help drier areas in holding water, which can be later used for irrigation. The latter will help the famers in bouncing back from losses they incur due to droughts.”