Photo Courtesy: nenews
Guwahati: Sarupathar MLA Biswajit Phukan wants the Assam government to label his constituency a drought-hit area. He visited villages in Golaghat district this Monday to see the damage firsthand. Dry weather has turned fields into cracked earth and choked off local farming.
Farmers are desperate. They prepared their plots for the kharif season but cannot plant without rain. Irrigation is failing across the district. Most of the land relies on the monsoon, and ponds have run dry. Seedbeds are shriveling up in the heat.
"The entire Sarupathar constituency is facing drought-like conditions this year. Farmers have failed to carry out cultivation due to the lack of water for irrigation. Although they made efforts and had already prepared their fields, the soil has now cracked up," Phukan said.
This crisis mirrors the conditions of 2021. Back then, the government stepped in with relief after declaring the area drought-hit. Phukan expects similar support now. Agriculture Minister Pijush Hazarika has already started handing out solar-powered irrigation pumps to help ease the strain.
The rest of the state tells a different story. While Sarupathar prays for rain, six other districts in Assam are currently fighting floods. Local farmers fear for their livelihoods if the state does not release immediate financial aid to cover their mounting losses.
Comments