This year, no water for rabi crop in Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh government has decided not to release water from the reservoirs for irrigating rabi crop this year due to shortage of water.

"All district collectors have been given necessary instructions and asked not to release water from the reservoirs for rabi crop due to deficient rainfall that the state has received this year," a senior official with water resources department said. The state government had revised the Rabi 2009-10 plan and reduced the acreage from 1.8 million hectares to 1.7 million hectares with the productivity of 868 kilogram per hectare.

The main crops include gram (in 2,90,000 hectares), tivada (4,90,000 hectares), wheat (1,60,000 hectares), summer paddy (1,20,000 hectares), and oil seeds (3,12,000 hectares). Sources said that summer paddy required maximum water. The farmers in the non-irrigated areas depend on water released from the reservoirs. Due to deficient rainfall this year, the agriculture scientists have been predicting tough time for the farmers taking summer crop in the state. The officials with the water resources department said that water levels in the two main reservoirs namely Mahanadi and Mini Mata Hasdeo Bango had depleted sharply due to insufficient rainfall that the state had recorded this year.

"Water level in both the reservoirs has come down below the reserve level and it is not possible for the authorities to release water," the officials said. Since the water available in the reservoirs has been reserved for meeting the requirement of drinking water during summer and industrial usage, the state government has decided not to release water for the rabi crop, the officials added.