Another drought looms large over Gujarat

Another drought looms large over Gujarat
DARSHAN DESAI

GANDHINAGAR, SEPT 13: Even as the state government keeps its hopes alive that it might rain, it is almost certain that yet another drought year, worse than last year, is round the corner. With just over 10 to 30 per cent water left in dams and reservoirs, it won't take more than a couple of months for Gujarat to hear cries for water yet again.

On September 12 last year, the live storage in the state's 174 dams was 7,012.99 million cubic metres against a total installed capacity of 14,994.48 million cubic metres. This time, the figure is 5,096.17 mcm -- as much as 2,000 mcm less. Already, water tankers are criss-crossing as many as 328 villages, most of them in Saurashtra.

Since it did rain a bit in the past till September 15, the government hopes for a repetition. But official sources indicated that with the end of August, monsoons have virtually bid adieu to Gujarat and it does not seem probable that it will rain, and that too adequately. This is why Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel has already asked all the departments concerned to pull up their socks for yet another scarcity year.

At present, as many as 53 dams are totally dry, with not even a drop left in their live storage, while only three dams in the state -- Doswada, Jhuj and Kelia -- are completely full. None of them is in the scarcity regions of Saurashtra, Kutch and north Gujarat. Out of their installed live storage capacity of 2,228.15 mcm, Saurashtra's dams have only 242.25 mcm of water. This includes 78 mcm in irrigation schemes, meaning only 164.07 mcm for drinking water.

Against Kutch district's installed capacity of 264.54 mcm, its dams have just62.37 mcm water at present. In the north Gujarat districts, Banaskantha has 13.54 mcm water against its capacity of 596.01 mcm, Mehsana has 64 mcm against 735.05 mcm capacity, Sabarkantha has a live storage of just 18.44 mcm while its capacity is to store 500.61 mcm.

Among other districts, Ahmedabad district does not have even a drop of live storage against the total storage capacity of 10.39 mcm. Panchmahals has 101.38 mcm against its storage capacity of 800.43 mcm, Dahod has only 209.03 mcm while its storage level is 1,637 mcm water and Vadodara district has 27.67 mcm against the capacity of 173.71 mcm.

The south Gujarat districts of Narmada, Bharuch, Surat and Valsad, as usual,are well off, with over 50 per cent storage of their capacity. Though Kheda district has nearly 50 per cent water stored at the moment, it might face problem, for there has been a low inflow in the Kadana dam in Panchmahals which supplies to Kheda. This will also have an impact on Ahmedabad district.

The government hopes to help Kheda and Ahmedabad districts by the Saurashtra Pipeline Scheme, better known as the Mahi-Pariyej Scheme. The Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board Member-secretary K.B. Patel said that by January-February, Mahi waters can be reached to parts of these two districts.

Patel admitted that a serious situation is likely to arise and said a scarcity action plan will be ready in a couple of days. Nearly half of the new 10,000 checkdams, which were set up during the past few months, were filled and these helped recharge the groundwater at the few places where it rained.

Official sources, however, said in such areas the government will have to guard against the rich farmers pumping away the recharged water through heavy-duty motors. ``The government will have to fix up some quota or similar mechanism to prevent the farmers from taking away drinking water,'' says a senior bureaucrat.