Water levels in almost all of West Bengal's major reservoirs are lower than last year. The Kana river, the principal source for irrigation, has turned into a dry soil bed and numerous ponds have transformed into depressions of cracked soil. According to Kashi Patra, a farmer leader in Dhaniakhali, ''It’s a near-drought situation.”
Water reservoirs at the Damodar Valley Corporation are a major source of irrigation in Dhaniakhali from December onwards. After the monsoon, water replenished in the reservoirs is used for irrigating potato, paddy, jute and vegetables between January and May. However, last year, there had been almost no rainfall between August and December.
Farmers are worried about loan repayments. “Last year, the government restructured loans. We have submitted a plea to the government for a similar facility this year,” says Patra.
Banks have restructured a significant portion of crop loans in West Bengal for the kharif season. Farmers were given a year-long moratorium, extension of repayment up to five years and a facility to avail new loans for the rabi season. The drought in the early kharif season last year, followed by heavy rain, led to significant crop damage.
“Unless the government declares a drought, we cannot restructure loans. So far, there is absolutely no offtake for kharif loans as the weather conditions are not conducive,” says a United Bank of India executive.
Source - http://www.freshplaza.com
