Ahead of summer, 4,000 villages face drought in Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL: Even before the onset of summer, nearly 4,000 villages are staring at an acute drought in 36 out of 52 districts in Madhya Pradesh.

A lean monsoon last year has left in its trail a grave crisis for the third successive year while the administration is cramped by the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha elections.

A report by the Panchayat and Rural Development Department says 40 rivers that provide water to these villages have gone dry and the microwatershed management is in complete disarray. Most parts of the state have experienced 20 to 50 per cent deficient rainfall for the past two years.

More than 21,293,000 hectares of the rivers’ catchment area is parched on the nearly 2,19,0000 km length of these rivers. The department says efforts are continuing to recharge the micro watersheds through the course of these rivers.

The department has drawn up a plan to raise the groundwater level by recharging the rivers through community participation.

The objective is to raise rural jobs and provide drinking water through works under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS).

In view of the poll code, the state government may seek the Election Commission’s approval for launching initiative to mitigate the crisis.

Villages in Bundelkhand already began experiencing water scarcity early in November. The region is experiencing its fourth successive drought in five years while the rest of the state had an average monsoon in 2017.

Some villagers in Tikamgarh district in the Bundelkhand region have had to cover more than five kilometres every day to fetch water for more than three years now. Even the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has taken a hit as women have to walk long distances to use a toilet. The community toilets have no water in most villages.

This year the worst affected of the 36 districts is Katni, with 305 villages experiencing a water crisis.