Farmers in 20 UP dists look up in despair

LUCKNOW: Though normal rains in June helped farmers do early plantation of paddy, the prominent water-guzzling Kharif crop in UP, a highly deficient monsoon in more than 20 districts, largely under the western zone, now poses a challenge to farmers to keep their crop afloat.

Agriculture department’s data shows that paddy plantation target (other than that of the Basmati) has been achieved almost 100% due to good monsoon last month. But only around 66% target has been achieved of sowing other monsoon crops like maize, jowar, bajra and pulses. Since plantation of basmati paddy starts late, more than 30% area is yet to be covered. According to sources inadequate rains in July were not only hampering basmati plantation and sowing of other Kharif crops in many districts but also creating an irrigation crisis for the paddy and crops already planted/sown.

“There will be a problem for the farmers who do not have alternative means of irrigation if good rains do not come within a week or so,” they said.

Additional director, agriculture, Rajesh Gupta admitted that the monsoon was weak in the Western zone in the current month causing some worries to farmers. “But a long spell of monsoon is still left and the deficit is most likely to be made up in the days to come,” he hoped.

The same data reveals that at least half a dozen districts are virtually parching as they have received a very little amount of rainfall so far. GB Nagar with only 7.5% of the normal rains since June is the direst district followed by the neighbouring Ghaziabad which has received only 25.4% of the normal rainfall. Other districts falling in the ‘scanty’ category are Farrukhabad (33.6%), Mahoba in Bundelkhand (35.6%), Bulandshahr (36.3%), and Mathura (36.7%).

Another 15 districts that have received rainfall between 40-60% of the normal are in the highly ‘deficient’ category. They are Kanpur Dehat, Agra, Aligarh, Unnao, Etawah, Etah, Kasganj, Hathras, Sambhal, Hardoi, Shahjahanpur, Amroha, Kaushambi, Rampur and Shamli.

Similarly, 14 districts including Lucknow are in the ‘deficient’ category with 60-80% of the normal rainfall so far. As many as 20 districts in eastern UP, including Gorakhpur, have received excess rainfall, that is above 120% of the normal. Only 20 districts including Varanasi, Prayagraj, Kanpur Nagar, Meerut and Bareilly have received normal rains in the range of 80-120% of normal.