Farmers in Madhya Pradesh are on the brink of crop failure.
Farmers across Madhya Pradesh may be headed for a bleak monsoon once again, as the state is already struggling with 53 per cent deficient rainfall.
After grappling with excessive rainfall and hailstorms last year, these farmers are now facing the spectre of a weak monsoon.
The western part of Malwa region has been the worst hit and farmers are bracing themselves for another year of crop failure.
Barely two weeks ago, Harinarayan, a 45-year-old resident of Kaneria village in Dewas district, had planted seeds in the ten bighas of land owned by him.
It had rained on June 11 and he had been hopeful about a better monsoon.
"I have already spent Rs 15,000-20,000 to sow seeds but this crop is set to fail as it has not rained for the last two weeks. I will take a loan (to buy new a fresh stock of seeds) and try again. If the second crop also fails due to the rainfall deficit, then I will have no option but to sell my land to settle loans," he says.
Thousands of farmers in Madhya Pradesh will be forced to take equally desperate measures to make ends meet if the monsoon continues its weak spell.
"We have fodder for our cattle but that will end in another 10-15 days. If it doesn't rain, even wild grass won't grow, so what will we feed them," said Babulal, a farmer in Budhasa village.
But authorities are reluctant to declare this a crisis situation.
D P Dubey, director of the Bhopal Meteorological department, told NDTV, "The situation right now is not that alarming. In 2012, monsoon reached the state by July 4 and yet crop production was good. But if it does not rain by July 7, chances of which are very slim, then the farmers will face problems due to rainfall deficit."
"We and the agriculture department are in a wait-and-watch situation. The monsoon is not that late. In case there is a problem, we will do all we can to help the farmers," said Dewas Collector MK Agarwal.