Drought-hit 5.31 lakh farmers in Barmer to get ₹557 cr relief
BARMER: Based on the assessment report submitted by central team, state government has declared drought in 2,691 villages in Barmer district and crop compensation of ~557 crore for the 5.31 lakh affected farmers. Apart from this, relief activities like cattle camp and drinking water arrangement will be started soon. The government will also spend ~5.70 crore on drinking water arrangements in the affected areas.
Rakesh Kumar Prajapat, additional district collector in Barmer district, said that after getting sanction from the state government, they have directed the revenue staff to prepare the list of affected farmers with required details such as bank account, Aadhar details and revenue records. He said that they are trying to submit the list by January 15 to the state relief department after which the budget will be released accordingly.
Kumar said, “Apart from disbursement of crop compensation, we are also preparing a plan for relief activities like cattle camp and drinking water arrangements.
“We have asked the revenue department officials to assess the need of cattle camps and fodder depots. On the basis of the assessment report, cattle camps and water tankers will be sanctioned to the affected areas.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of drought hit people have protested against the delay in relief activities outside the collecto- rate in Barmer on Friday.
Praveen Singh Aagore, who led the protest, said that currently, 90 percent villages in the district are affected by drought. He said that people are forced to leave their cattle as they are not able to feed them.
Aagore said, “People voted against the previous government since it was neglecting people’s plight. But now, the present government seems to be doing the same.”
He warned that if the relief activity does not start by January 15, they will hold the Mahapadav. He also warned that ignoring people’s plight wouldn’t be good for the ruling government in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
It is to be mentioned here that excluding financial year 2010-11, Barmer has been continuously facing severe drought situation over the last 10 years. This year, out of total 2,775 villa- ges, 2,694 have been declared drought affected. In crop assessment report, 100 percent crop damaged have been reported in 2,191 villages, 75 percent in 503 villages while rest 47 villages were reported with 50 percent crop damage.
As per t he r eport, due t o erratic monsoon, crop has been damaged across 12,66,418 hectares out of total cultivated area 15,19,190 hectares of land.
This time, the refinery belt of Pachpadra tehsil is the worst affected region in Barmer. In this area, 80,399 farmers have been affected bydrought. Apart from this, drought has been declared in all 293 villages of Pachpadra tehsil. Sindhary, Dhorimanna, Gadara Road, Baytoo are the other major drought affected areas. All the 206 villages in Sindhary, 208 in Dhorimanna, 165 in Gadara Road and 186 in Baytoo have been declared drought affected.