Despite Less Rains In UP, Yogi Says Farmers Won't Suffer Losses

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said despite less rains in the state, the situation was under control, and assured farmers that they will not be allowed to incur losses.

The Chief Minister, who reviewed the sowing of crops and rainfall, directed officials of all districts to monitor the situation round the clock. He stressed on paying special focus on 15 districts that have had a major impact on agriculture due to less rainfall.

Adityanath directed the agriculture, irrigation, revenue, relief and related departments to stay in alert mode, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement. The state has recorded 191.8 mm rain till July end as compared to 353.65 mm in 2021 and 349.85 mm in 2020 for the corresponding period.

Agra is the only district which has seen above normal rainfall (120 per cent). "In these circumstances, contact should be established with the farmers. The government is committed to safeguard their interests. Every possible assistance will be given to them as per requirement and not a single farmer will be allowed to incur any loss," Adityanath said.

There was normal rainfall (80 per to 120 per cent) in Firozabad, Etah, Hathras, Lakhimpur Kheri, Auraiya, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Varanasi and Hapur districts. Mathura, Balrampur, Lalitpur, Etawah, Bhadohi, Ambedkar Nagar, Muzaffarnagar, Ghazipur, Kannauj, Jalaun, Meerut, Sambhal, Sonbhadra, Lucknow, Saharanpur and Mirzapur received less than normal rainfall (60 per cent to 80 per cent).

Thirty districts have received 40-60 per cent rainfall and 19 districts have got less than 40 per cent rain. Referring to these 49 districts, the chief minister said in a statement, "The sowing of kharif crops has been affected and we need to be ready for all circumstances."

Special attention has to be paid to Kanpur, Amroha, Moradabad, Gonda, Mau, Bahraich, Basti, Sant Kabirnagar, Ghaziabad, Kaushambi, Ballia, Shravasti, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Shahjahanpur, Kushinagar, Jaunpur, Kanpur Dehat, Farrukhabad and Rampur, he said.

"Normally, in Uttar Pradesh, the monsoon season begins by June 15 and continues till September 15. This time, it was not normal. However, irrigation is improved as we have widened canals and dug tubewells. Rampur district has got only 18 per cent rain compared to the normal and 98 per cent of crops are sown here," he said.

The situation, however, improved following the downpour on July 19. Under the kharif campaign for 2022-23, sowing has been carried out on 81.49 lakh hectare against the target of 96.03 lakh hectare, thus meeting 84.8 per cent of the target.

The Chief Minister also stressed on measuring rainfall. "Many policies of the government depend on its assessment. Rain gauging devices should be put up at the development block level as we could receive accurate information," he said.

(With PTI inputs)