With less than normal rainfall, the farms in Gujarat are grappling with shortage of both power and water for irrigation. While the state Government has already decided to reduce power supply to the industries to facilitate irrigation, the farmer bodies maintain that agricultural production will suffer heavy losses because of water shortage.

“If we don’t get any more rains, the farm produce will be reduced to half of our normal production,” said Jivan Patel, co-ordinator, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS). “However, if it rains from now on, maybe we can get to about 80 per cent of our regular yield,” he added.

Meanwhile, the state Government has already announced extra power supply to the farmers for irrigation to save the crops. “We understand that the industries will have to suffer some reduction in production for a short period, but unless the farmers are given power now, they will lose the crop of the entire year,” said a highly-placed official from Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL). “Since last two days, we have been providing about 55 million units to the farmers for irrigation as against the demands of 60million units,” he added.

However, power is not the only issue that worries the farmers and the Government. “The farmers have to be sensitised to make judicious use of water,” said the official adding that GUVNL is also meeting the farmers and trying to generate awareness about alternative modes of irrigation.

“There is no water in the rocky farmlands of north Gujarat and the water level of the wells, too, have gone down in the Saurashtra region,” Patel says.

... contd.