Sambalpur district has received 43 per cent less rainfall in the month of June due to scanty rain throughout the month.
The forecast of the Meteorological department has failed miserably too.
“Still so far there has been no major problem for the agricultural activities,” informed Chief District Agriculture Officer (CDAO), Tankadhar Sahu.
The average rainfall of the district in the month of June is 221 mm. But it has received 126 mm rainfall, the CDAO informed.
But it is a fact that there has not been much problem for the famers so far in the Hirakud Command area (HCA) and also in the rain-fed areas of the district. When Hirakud Command Area farmers are using water from the Hirakud dam reservoir through different canals to begin with their activities, the last week’s rain of the district has helped the farmers of the rest of the district, the CDAO added.
But if there would not be sufficient rain in July, then a difficult situation may arise, since irrigated areas also depend upon rainfall, he said.
The district has 53 per cent irrigated and 47 per cent rainfed/non-irrigated area. Hence, rain has its own importance as of today, opined Ramsagar Sahu, a leading farmer of the district, with suggestion to store more water from the Hirakud reservoir downstream instead of wasting it in Bay of Bengal like the last 70 years.