Rajasthan: 80 tehsils across 14 districts declared drought-hit

As many as 80 tehsils across fourteen districts in Rajasthan have been declared drought-affected following deficient rainfall, reduced water availability and damage to the kharif crop.

Two notifications issued by the disaster management, relief and civil defence department on October 24 and 25 classify 69 tehsils as severely drought-affected and 11 as moderately affected. The declarations will remain effective for six months from publication.

The first notification covered 53 tehsils across 13 districts. The second added 27 tehsils across 10 districts, including Bikaner, taking the combined number of affected districts to 14. Of the additional tehsils, 25 have been classified as severely affected and two as moderately affected.

The districts covered are Banswara, Barmer, Balotra, Bikaner, Churu, Dungarpur, Beawar, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Phalodi, Nagaur, Pali and Sirohi.

According to the notifications, the assessment considered deficient rainfall, reduced surface and groundwater availability, poor crop conditions and information from the Centre’s Drought Monitoring Portal. The assessment followed the Centre’s Drought Management Manual, 2016.

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Jodhpur has the highest number of affected tehsils at 12, followed by Barmer and Jalore with 10 each, Balotra with nine, Pali with eight, and Dungarpur, Jaisalmer and Phalodi with seven each. Banswara has three, Churu and Beawar have two each, while Bikaner, Nagaur and Sirohi have one each.

In Jodhpur, 11 tehsils—Osian, Tinwari, Balesar, Bawri, Shergarh, Sekhala, Kudi Bhagtasni, Jodhpur, Jhanwar, Bilara and Luni—have been classified as severely affected, while Pipar Shahar is moderately affected.

All ten listed tehsils in Barmer, Gadra Road, Chohtan, Barmer, Baytoo, Sedwa, Ramsar, Sheo, Dhanau, Barmer Rural and Batadu, are severely affected. Jalore’s 10 tehsils, Ahore, Chitalwana, Jaswantpura, Bagoda, Bhinmal, Raniwara, Sanchore, Sayla, Bhadrajun and Jalore, are also in the severe category.

In Balotra, Gudamalani, Kalyanpur, Pachpadra, Gida, Dhorimanna, Patodi, Samdari, Siwana and Sindhari have been classified as severely affected. All eight listed tehsils in Pali—Sumerpur, Desuri, Pali, Bali, Marwar Junction, Rani, Rohat and Sojat—are severely affected.

In Jaisalmer, Fatehgarh, Mohangarh, Sam, Ramgarh, Pokaran and Phalsund are severely affected, while Jaisalmer tehsil is moderately affected. In Phalodi, Phalodi, Bap, Bapini, Aau, Ghantiyali and Dechu are in the severe category, while Setrawa is moderately affected.

Dungarpur’s Aspur, Galiyakot, Jhauthri and Sabla tehsils have been classified as severely affected, while Simalwara, Paldewal and Obri are moderately affected. In Banswara, Garhi and Arthuna are severely affected and Sajjangarh is moderately affected.

Rajgarh and Sidhmukh in Churu, and Sheoganj in Sirohi, have been placed in the severe category. Raipur and Jaitaran in Beawar, Khinvsar in Nagaur and Hada in Bikaner have been classified as moderately affected.

Below-normal monsoon

According to the Water Resources Department’s report dated September 30 , Rajasthan received 350.83 mm of rainfall between June 1 and September 30 against a normal of 424.71 mm, a shortfall of 73.88 mm.

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The department classified 14 of the state’s 41 districts as rainfall-deficient, while 24 recorded normal rainfall and three received excess rainfall. The deficient districts included Balotra, Banswara, Dungarpur, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Pali and Sirohi.

The same report recorded water storage in the state’s 693 monitored dams at 62.16% of their combined capacity, compared with 90.19% on the corresponding date last year. In the WRD’s Jodhpur zone, storage stood at just 15.98%, against 80.45% a year earlier.