NAGPUR, Aug 20: The poor monsoon this year has crippled the kharif season in Vidarbha beyond recovery. Nearly half the total sowing in the region is estimated to have failed and if it doesn't rain within a week's time, the region will soon be facing its worst drought in 30 years.According to the weather office, the picture is still bleak and not much rainfall can be expected for atleast the next few days. After that too, there will be rains only if a `favourable system' develops over the Andhra coast.Surveys conducted in areas where the crops of cotton, soyabean, jowar, coarse grains/ pulses and paddy are cultivated give bleak reports stating: `No sowing taking place,' `resowing needed,' and `threatened.' As many as 1.27 lakh hectares of land under paddy cultivation in the three districts of Bhandara, Gadchiroli and part of Chandrapur alone have been placed under the `threatened' category. Rice plants in most areas have been in the nurseries for 40 to 55 days waiting to be transplanted in the fields. The maximum period should not to exceed 25 days.Meanwhile, the coarse grains and tuwar crops are beyond recovery. Cotton, soya and jowar, may have survived the dry spell so far but cannot be expected to hold out much longer. It is feared that cotton and soya yield will come down by nearly 40 per cent even if it rains now.The problem this year has not been merely the lack of rains, but exceedingly high temperatures as well. Over the past few weeks, the temperature has regularly scaled four to five degrees above normal. It means that germinating seeds cannot draw moisture even from the atmosphere to sustain themselves. There have been rainless spells earlier too, but then the skies were cloudy and humidity was high.Nearly 80 per cent of the agriculture in Vidarbha is rain-fed. The remaining 20 per cent has irrigation potential, but water levels in the reservoirs all over Vidarbha are currently 30 to 70 per cent below normal. The level at only two of the major and medium projects in the region has so far touched the 50 per cent mark.An official release issued here states that the storage at Navegaon Khairi reservoir is `extremely less'. The release also appeals to farmers to take care while using the available water. Those who have not yet sown seeds have been advised to pass on their share of water to those who have.The State government is expected to take a decision on this matter soon. Under scarcity conditions the special powers delegated to local-level officials are usually extended by the State cabinet. The powers to Divisional Commissioners, District Collectors and Tahsildars include sanctioning of special works under the Employment Guarantee Scheme, reservation of drinking water in reservoirs and tanks and imposing or lifting of restrictions on carting of fodder from one district to another. The cabinet may extend the delegation of the special powers up to August 30.Besides sanctioning the EGS works and fodder movement, the local officials might also increase the quota reserved in tanks and reservoirs for drinking water supply to the cities. The urban water supply quota is normally 10 to 15 per cent of the storage capacity. The remaining is used for agriculture. The administrators may now divert upto 50 per cent of the stored water to the cities as the crops have already been damaged.
