Fear of drought in Odisha’s Sambalpur is palpable among farmers. Drought situation in Sambalpur district seems more than likely as the region has reportedly received just a fraction of rain this year compared to a normal monsoon season.
The impact of this rainfall deficit has been quite adverse on agriculture. These are some alarming images from the agriculture fields in Sambalpur district. Due to lack of irrigation, the soil in the region has lost moisture and developed cracks. According to the farmers, even if rainfall occurs in near future, it is already late.
Meanwhile, Odisha government has decided to prepare a contingency plan to tackle a possible drought-like situation in the state. The District Collectors have been asked to prepare a contingency plan for alternative crops in each block and panchayat. Various blocks in Odisha facing scanty rainfall have been asked to adopt alternate means of cultivation. Odisha has received only 571 mm of rain since June as against the normal rainfall of 820.5 mm.
As per reports, seven districts including Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Angul, Boudh, Jajpur and Bhadrak recorded a deficit rainfall between 39% and 59%. While 18 other districts have registered rainfall below 39%, the remaining five districts have witnessed normal rainfall.