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It’s official. Madhya Pradesh is the first state to be declared drought-hit. With the rains playing truant, the central Indian state is facing an acute shortage of water forcing the Government to announce that 152 tehsils in 41 districts are drought-hit. With 60 per cent of the total cultivable area of 140 million hectares being rain-fed, the water shortage has raised concerns about an impact on agriculture and economy.
On Sunday, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had said that there was “no reason for concern”. “The major sowing period is between July and August,” he said, adding that the country’s foodgrain production is likely to be the same as that of last year. The Agriculture Secretary had met agriculture secretaries of states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and UP to discuss strategy.
