Poor rainfall during August has raised worries of a possible drought-like situation across Madhya Pradesh as 26 of the state's 52 districts have received around 20 per cent deficient rain, and nine, including capital Bhopal, around 30 per cent, according IMD reports.
The situation prompted Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to call an emergency meeting of senior officials late on Sunday and issue directions to chalk out a plan to combat the possible drought threat looming in the state.
During the meeting, Chouhan said that due to poor rainfall, farmers may face tough situation in coming days as their crops have been damaged.
"We have to be prepared to combat this possible drought. We have to take steps to protect our farmers," he told officials.
The officials apprised the Chief Minister of about the situation of dams and other water resources in Madhya Pradesh.
Chouhan also said demand of electricity has increased by manifold and has directed the officials to provide water for irrigation.
"Till now the dams of the state have not been filled due to the rains. The demand for electricity is increasing, efforts are being made to fix all the arrangements. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that everything goes well," he added.
According to India Meteorological Department in Bhopal, the entire state as on September 3 has reported 18 percent below normal rain.
As many as 47 out of districts have reported below normal rains, ranging between 2 per cent below normal in Anuppur and 46 per cent below normal in Satna district – both in the Vindhya region.
The IMD report suggested very serious position in at least 29 districts, spanning from Sehore and Vidisha (21 per cent) in central MP and Satna, Mandsaur and Ashok Nagar (40 per cent to 46 per cent below normal) in Vindhya, west MP and Gwalior-Chambal regions, respectively.
While 17 of the 29 worst hit districts have reported 21 per cent to 28 per cent below normal rain, between June 1 and September 3, at least eight districts have recorded 30 per cent to 39 per cent below normal rain, while three other districts have reported over 40 per cent below normal rain in the same period.
In western part of the state such as Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ujjain, Ratlam, Barwani and Khargone, which form the main soybean and cotton cash crop cultivating areas of the state, farmers have been resorting to bizarre rituals, like feeding gulab jamuns to donkey, village sarpanches riding a donkey and donkeys ploughing the parched fields to propitiate the rain gods.
Meanwhile, state Congress president Kamal Nath has expressed his concern over possible drought-like situation in Madhya Pradesh and demanded prompt action from the government.
He demanded from the state government that the farmers should be paid immediate compensation to tide over the situation. "It is a matter of worry that due to deficit rainfall, crops like soybean and maize have been damaged in Neemuch and other parts of the state, but the state government is not paying attention to the situation. This area of the state is agriculture-based and an impact on the economic condition of the farmers will adversely impact the economic activities in the entire region and the state," he added.
Agartala MBB Airport gets new domestic air cargo terminal
The state transport minister Sushanta Chowdhury on Monday inaugurated the domestic air cargo terminal here at Agartala MBB Airport and said that the airport will soon receive the tag of international airport.
Court sentences four Bihar residents to 10 years RI
Six years after four persons from Bihar were detained for smuggling 29.5 kg of cannabis from Agartala in the Humsafar Express, the Additional Sessions Judge Court, Dharmanagar, North District of Tripura, on Monday convicted them and sentenced them to ten years of rigorous imprisonment.
Pradyot calls for respect to traditional heads amid temple land dispute
Tipra Motha Party founder and royal scion, Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, has urged the government to acknowledge and respect the authority of Samajpatis (traditional heads) and Chantai (priests) in matters concerning temple development projects.
29 Bangladeshi nationals, seven touts held in Tripura
The Border Security Force (BSF), Tripura, has enhanced vigil and intensified its domination along the international border and detained 29 Bangladeshi nationals and seven Indian touts in last four days.
J.P. Nadda holds meeting with Tripura BJP leaders; discusses party-related issues
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president J.P. Nadda on Sunday held an important meeting with Tripura's state unit leaders including Chief Minister Manik Saha and discussed various party affairs.
One body recovered from Telangana tunnel on day 16 of rescue operation
Rescue workers on Sunday - the 16th day of the operation - pulled out the body of one of the eight missing persons from the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district after the cadaver dogs from Kerala identified the spot for presence of human remains under the rubble.
FM says GST rates to be reduced further, rationalised; Congress demands overhaul
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates will be reduced further as the process of rationalising tax slabs is nearing completion.
'Anti-incumbency is an issue of the past now': J.P. Nadda hails PM Modi's leadership in Tripura rally
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president J.P. Nadda on Sunday said that the political culture in India has changed after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, adding that people earlier used to talk about the anti-incumbency factor against the government.