A deficient monsoon has added to the troubles of poor farmers in Bihar
India has seen a good monsoon this year, with a rainfall surplus of about 14 per cent across the country on Tuesday as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) records.
This is good news for farmers as the crops are likely to meet or even exceed their target.
But in Bihar, there is little cheer as it is one of the few states staring at a huge rainfall deficit. Farmers have even been warned of a drought-like situation.
In Jehanabad, the clouds look ominous, but they have not managed to wipe out the district's massive 51 per cent rain deficit. The fields in the area are either barren or have dying crops because of lack of standing water.
A weak monsoon has also led to additional headaches for farmers like 72-year-old Vishnu Dev Yadav, who holds two acres of land in the Barbatta village and cultivates paddy like everyone else at this time of the year.
Ten days ago, the local electricity board slapped a heavy fine on him for drawing power illegally to run his motor pump and a small wheat grinding unit. A First Information Report or FIR was also lodged.
Mr Yadav admitted he was wrong but said he had no other option.
Ideally, farmers like Vishnu Dev should have been using subsidised diesel to run pumps and irrigate their fields - one of the many measures announced by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently. He had also announced six to seven hours of electricity in rural areas.
But farmers at Barbatta say these announcements are only on paper. "Nothing has come our way. We are just getting a few hours of electricity and that is not enough," Ranvir Singh, a resident, said.
Across Bihar, the situation is grim. It is an irony that even as the state grapples with a drought-like situation in many districts, some places have seen floods and displacement.
The bigger worry for the Bihar government is whether the steps taken for the farmers' benefit will actually lead to any cheer amongst them.