The delay in the onset of normal monsoons in Chhattisgarh which is already grappling with drought situation in many districts has now raised a different set of concerns for the State.
Chhattisgarh is among 15 States in the country with lesser storage in its reservoirs than last year, as per the information available with the Union Ministry of Water Resources.
The other States with lesser storage in their reservoirs are — Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana with two combined projects in both States, Punjab, Jharkhand, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
States having better storage than last year for corresponding period are Rajasthan West Bengal, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, the Ministry informed.
Chhattisgarh has registered an average 95.5 mm rainfall from June 1 to June 24, officials stated on Friday.
According to information received from Revenue
and Disaster Management Department Mantralaya (Mahanadi Bhavan) Koriya has received 50.5 mm, Surguja 56.8 mm, Surajpur 13.4 mm, Balrampur 44.9 mm, Jashpur 75.4 mm, Raigarh 88.8 mm, Mahasamund 87.4 mm, Raipur 95.4 mm, Baloda Bazar 58.4mm Gariaband 110.1 mm, Janjgir 51.5 mm, Korba 46.0 mm, Bilaspur 107.2 mm, Mungeli 72.4 mm, Kabirdham 69.6 mm, Rajnandgaon 66.1 mm, Durg 102.5 mm, Bemetara 96.9 mm Balod 140.6 mm, Dhamtari 168.2 mm, Kanker 117.1 mm, Bastar 106.6 mm, Kondagaon 190.8 mm, Narayanpur 148.5 mm, Dantewada 99.6 mm, Sukma 159.1 mm and Bijapur district has registered 153.8 mm rainfall.
State Chief Minister Raman Singh had announced earlier that each of the farmers in drought-hit tehsils of
the State will be given one quintal of paddy seeds in the Kharif season.
He had stated that keeping in view the possibility of natural calamities during the monsoon season, the State Government has already alerted the district administrations and has allotted Rs 84 crore to each district in advance to tackle emergency any situation.