Drought-hit Thar farmers to wait for relief work till April
WARY Barmer villagers reel under ‘severest drought of the decade’
BARMER: Rajasthan energy minister BD Kalla has said relief work for drought-affected Barmer district will start from April 1, but for Thar farmers reeling under dry conditions, it’s a long wait.
Kalla, minister in-charge of Barmer district, chaired a meeting here on Saturday to take stock of the progress of welfare schemes and programmes.
Of the total 2775 villages in the district, 2694 have been declared drought-affected; a government report has called it the severest drought of the decade.
The district received scanty rainfall for the fifth year in a row. According to official data, 1600 villages of the district were drought-affected in 2014; 1470 in 2015; 2478 in 2016 and 1900 in 2017.
Sawairam Mali, a farmer from a village near Barmer, said, “Despite failure of monsoon about six months ago, government has not yet launched relief activities.”
After monsoon failure in September, people started facing shortage of drinking water and fodder for cattle. “People of many villages have started migrating towards safer locations to get drinking water and fodder,” Mali said.
Offi c i al s asked f or c r op assessment on September 15 last year and the report was submitted on October 15. The report revealed that Barmer received 128 mm rainfall this monsoon against the average of 275 mm. In 2191 villages, crops have been fully damaged and 503 villages recorded 75% crop loss, the report said.
People of many villages have started migrating towards safer locations to get drinking water and fodder SAWAIRAM MALI, farmer
In December last year, a central team visited the drought-affected areas in the district and took stock of the situation. On the basis of reports and recommendations, the state government in the first week of January declared 2691 of the 2775 villages in Barmer as scarcity hit.
After the government’s declaration, people were hopeful that relief work would begin soon. “Government is preparing reports. When there is no rainfall, why doesn’t the government start relief activities?” asked Mali. “Now government has announced to launch relief from April 1. But how to manage our drinking water needs till then? Where will we go with our cattle? We are unable to cope up with the difficulties.”
Barmer district collector Himanshu Gupta said the government has issued a circular announcing that drought relief activities would be carried out from April 1. He said government has planned two types of relief activities -- cattle camps and fodder depots, and sanctioned a contingency plan worth Rs 4.50 crore.
“Following the government’s directive, block officials have been asked to send proposals regarding relief activities. The state government will sanction relief on the basis of the proposals,” Gupta said.