Erratic monsoon patterns driven by El Nino conditions have left large parts of the peninsula under growing strain even before the season has run its course
Narmada waters have cushioned Anjar, Rapar and Bhachau in the east, but western Kutch is seeing its first major pastoral migration since 2018. Govt said the state had received 75.43% of its seasonal average rainfall as of Sept 3. Meanwhile, IMD has forecast a wet spell until Sept 15, but it is unlikely to erase Saurashtra’s deficit.
Ramesh Bhatti, programme director of Sahjeevan, said the impact has been uneven across Kutch. The concern spilled over into a statewide convention of panjrapol operators and pastoralists in Rajkot, where community leaders appealed to social organisations and animal welfare groups to begin relief efforts rather than wait for govt aid. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Ahmedabad | Silver Rate in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad | Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Petrol Price in Ahmedabad | Diesel Price in Ahmedabad | CNG Price in Ahmedabad | LPG Price in Ahmedabad
However, on Friday, Gujarat govt said in the assembly that it would not declare drought in districts solely on the basis of rainfall deficiency, stressing that a scientific assessment of crop conditions and ground verification would be required before taking such a decision.
Gujarat received 516.9mm against the normal of 643.7mm between June 1 and Sept 10, a deficit of 20%. Saurashtra and Kutch received 294.8mm against the normal 481.8mm, leaving a deficit of 38%. For much of the past 20 years, the visual vocabulary of drought had begun to fade from daily life in the region. For those born after 1995, severe scarcity was largely a story from another time.
The rainfall deficit in Saurashtra and Kutch is nearly twice the state average, according to IMD data. Groundwater levels are falling; fodder is running short; and crops are wilting in the fields. Pastoralists have begun moving livestock in search of grazing land, while farmers growing groundnut and cotton are pressing for irrigation water and relief as losses mount. Tanker queues, parched wells and long walks for water were no longer the defining images of Saurashtra and Kutch. Better rainfall and the spread of Narmada waters had, for years, quelled the region’s old anxieties.
Erratic monsoon patterns driven by El Nino conditions have left large parts of the peninsula under growing strain even before the season has run its course.
