Drought-prone Palamu seeks state aid

DALTONGANJ: The Palamu district administration will be sending a detailed report to the state government on the agriculture scenario of the drought-prone rain-shadow district.
Confirming the development, K N Jha, deputy commissioner of Palamu, said: "We are going to write to the government about the deficient rainfall here, which has hit agricultural activities in the district.
The report will talk of the percentage of field coverage, land levelling, position of water bodies, condition of agricultural labourers and the necessities arising out of the drought-prone situation."
Taking cognizance of the grim state of affairs, Jha said: "The future looks bleak with no raifall in sight. There is no respite for farmers, who are spending sleepless nights thinking about the losses that they would have to incur."
The situation is rather dismal for the old and ailing people, pregnant mothers from BPL families as well as lactating women, who are most vulnerable in arid conditions.
On being asked whether Palamu will be declared a drought-hit district, Jha left the contentious issue to top officials in the government.
Farmers cultivating the staple paddy said, "If you compare the percentage of paddy cultivation of the whole of Jharkhand with that of the Palamu district, it has been low in the past as well."
However, according to the DC, 75% 'beehan' (nursery) of paddy is complete for transplanting in Palamu and in a couple of spells, it can be transplanted successfully.
The farmers, on the other hand, claim that the figure is exaggerated. They said that Palamu's rice bowls, Vishrampur and Hussainabad, have vast stretches of fields. But there is no sign of farming there baecause of inadequate rainfall this monsoon.
The river Koyal passing through Daltonganj is usually brimming in Sawan, but this year the poor rainfall has limited it to ankle-deep water, which has not even reached its banks."The river is yet to go into spate," rued Eqbal Waris, a homeopathic doctor living on the banks.