Kerala declares all districts drought-hit, with 34% monsoon deficiency

Government to take all steps to curb the impact of lower rainfall this year, Revenue Minister says

The Kerala government has declared all the 14 districts drought-hit, as it is expecting one of the worst droughts the state has faced during the past 10 years, in 2016.

The government is taking all the steps required to address the water scarcity challenges in a proactive manner and would approach the central government for help, said E Chandrasekharan, the state’s minister for revenue and housing.

Speaking to Business Standard, he said according to the reports from the India Meteorology Department, the state has so far experienced a deficiency of 34 per cent in monsoon, during the period between June to September, this year.

While the Department anticipated that this will be adjusted in the North West monsoon starting from October, reports suggest that in October, there was a deficiency of 69 percent in terms of rainfall, leading the State to a serious situation, he said. A meeting of all distfict collectors was called by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on October 13, in order to assess the situation.

"It is in this context, a State Disaster Management Authority meeting held under Chief Minister on October 28, decided to declare the entire State as drought-hit," he said. All the district collectors have been given a 26 point guideline to be followed, in order to address the issue. The agriculture and electricity generation in the State are reliying on the two monsoons in the State.

"Considering that the previous monsoon failed and given that the first month of this monsoon has shown a deficiency of 69 per cent, a drought is imminent. The government is taking measures to face the challenge at the best way," he added.

The efforts would be to hold the rain water that the state gets during the next two months on the ground through bunds, harvest rain water and take other suitable steps. It would also conduct an awareness campaign about saving water, across various institutions.

Plans are also to set up kiosks across the state, in order to reduce reliance of water supply in tanker lorries, which are notorious for malpractices. There are around 22,000 wards in the state and the government is feels that while some may not need water kiosks, others might require more than one.

The government will initiate a report by assessing various losses the drought causes and would approach the Centre seeking its support, Chandrasekharan added.

According to reports, the south-west monsoon from June 1 to September 30, has brought in 1,352.3 mm rain this year, as against the expected rainfall of 2,039.7 mm. It is also said that a moratorium for agricultrual loans is expected to be in place in order to support farmers in the state.