Rajasthan seeks divine help for rains

With a drought threat looming large, the BJP government in Rajasthan is appealing to gods to sends rains to the desert state.

Social Justice Minister Arun Chaturvedi, at the behest of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, has organised a ritual at an ancient Shiva temple near Vaishali Nagar here.

Chaturvedi told IANS that the Parjanya Yagya was performed by priests to pray for abundant rainfall.

Rainfall in Rajasthan has so far been 72 percent less than average this year. The situation in Jaipur is far worse.

"We organised the prayers for five days to pray for prosperity of the state as well as rainfall. We hope Lord Shiva will listen to our prayers, and provide us ample rainfall," Chaturvedi said.

Rajasthan is home to more than 5.5 percent of the human population and 18.70 percent of the livestock. But it has only 1.16 percent of the total surface water available in the country.

Rajasthan is one of the driest states of the country. The rainfall is erratic and there is a large variation in the rainfall pattern. Average annual rainfall ranges from 100 mm in Jaisalmer to 800 mm in Jhalawar.