Gujarat and Rajasthan have declared drought in 18 districts between them after a deficient monsoon, and Gujarat has announced relief for farmers whose crops failed, Down To Earth reported.
Rajasthan declared drought in 14 of its 41 districts, among them Churu, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Pali, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Barmer and Balotra. The state received 340.2 mm of rain between 1 June and 30 September against a normal 435.6 mm, a deficit of 22%, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Gujarat named four districts, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar and Kutch. "This season, the state overall received around 89 per cent rainfall. However, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Kutch, and Jamnagar districts witnessed lower rainfall," Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said in Gandhinagar on 26 October.
Under the Centre's Drought Manual Guidelines of 2016 and State Disaster Response Fund norms, farmers in the four districts will receive Rs 8,500 a hectare for crop losses, for up to two hectares each. The state has begun selling fodder at a subsidised Rs 2 a kilogram, will pay cattle shelters Rs 80 per animal for upkeep, and will offer 150 days of work under the rural employment mission from 1 November.
The two states join Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, which had already declared drought in parts of their territory. IIT Gandhinagar's India Drought Monitor put 46.7% of India's land area under drought conditions as of 21 October.
Photo: Drashokk / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Down To Earth
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