Paddy fields need standing water, and the 32 per cent deficit in rainfall could mean large-scale crop loss in Bihar.
Farmers in Bihar are staring into the skies, waiting. If it doesn't rain in the coming week, they say, their rice crops would wilt away. The monsoon has brought Bihar only two-thirds the normal level of rain, bringing the state to the brink of agrarian distress.
Of Bihar's 38 districts, 30 have received deficit rainfall, by up to 32 per cent. This is a worrying situation for a state that is largely dependent on rain for its irrigation needs. Bihar has received 433 mm against the normal of 653 mm. A drought-like situation exists in 223 out of the state's 533 blocks, according to the government.
"It just has to rain in the next week otherwise it will be a desperate situation for us ", says Sukhdeo Paswan, a farmer from Bangri in Muzaffarpur District.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is nearing the end of its term, says his government is taking a number of steps to mitigate the loss of crops as well as the effects on farmers. At his Independence Day speech, Mr Kumar announced a number of these measures.
The Bihar government has announced Rs 1500 per acre as diesel subsidy to farmers to operate their hand pumps, and the electricity department has been instructed to provide 12 hours of supply to rural areas. "We have completed every arrangement to provide relief to farmers. We will take every measure to ensure crops can be saved. Whatever important steps need to be taken in these times will be taken. We are with the people in these times of difficulty," said Mr Kumar.