Bhopal: Threat of a drought looms over Madhya Pradesh with major parts of the state experiencing dry spell over a month.
As of September three, the entire state has reported 18 percent below normal rainfall, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) here.
Forty seven out of 52 districts in the state have reported below normal rainfall with varying degrees of deficiency, the IMD said.
The state, on average, received as much as 40 percent less than normal rainfall in the month of August.
“A drought-like situation has developed in the state due to poor rainfall in the month of August. This led to a power crisis in the state”, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Monday.
Mr Chouhan who performed ‘Maharudrabheshek’ in Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain in the state on Monday praying for good showers to save the standing crops, said that he has initiated several steps to meet the challenges arising out of the prolonged dry spell in the state over one month.
Mr Chouhan had convened an emergency high level official meeting here on Sunday night to discuss the issue.
The major challenge before the state government is to combat the power crisis facing the state, triggered by the dry spell in the month of August.
“During this season, so much electricity is not required due to availability of water in dams and water bodies. Farmers don’t run motor pumps due to water availability. Normally, hydro power generation also increases during the season”, he said.
Generally, 8,000-9,000 MW power is needed in this season, but the demand has gone up to 15,000 MW, resulting in demand-supply gap, and farmers are not getting adequate electricity supply, he said.
Mr Chouhan said that he has directed the authorities concerned to arrange and purchase electricity to ensure that irrigation by farmers is not hit.
But the drought-like situation is prevailing in the entire country, he said.
Meanwhile, reports reaching here from western part of Madhya Pradesh, known for soybean and cotton cultivation, said that farmers in some areas in the region are resorting to such rituals to invoke rains, such as feeding sweets to donkeys and making donkeys plough the parched fields.
