Farmers in the twin districts of Anand and Kheda – known as Charotar in central Gujarat – which remained green throughout the year, are now a worried lot. With scant rains and no water in the irrigation network that crisscrosses the region, the farmers are opting to sow fodder instead of paddy – the main crop of this region during the kharif season. They allege that the waters are being diverted to relatively water-scarce region of Saurashtra this time.

Considered to be the green bowl of Gujarat, both Anand and Kheda districts have so far received 12mm rainfall each, which is negligible compared to the previous years. The water in the dams, which serves the canals in this region, has also dried up as the dams have not got enough waters. Both the districts are major producers of paddy in the state.

Lalbhai Patel, who owns 60 bighas of land in Mahemdabad taluka of Kheda district, says, “Farmers here are dependent on monsoon for paddy cultivation. The crop consumes a lot of water, and the delayed monsoon has hit the farmers hard. No body is

taking a risk to cultivate paddy this time.”

The situation has forced the farmers to look for alternative crops which are less water-intensive. Sombhai Patel, who owns around 250 bighas of agriculture land, says: “I have six bore wells surrounding my farm. Therefore, I have taken the risk of cultivating paddy this year. Small and medium farmers who depend only on the monsoon have nothing to cultivate. They are now taking up cultivation of fodder. But even that will take a lot of time to grow and therefore the situation is bad.”

... contd.