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Sunday, Aug 01, 2004

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Rains bring relief to Rajasthan

By Sunny Sebastian

JAIPUR, JULY 31. The month of July has not been a total letdown for the people of Rajasthan as halfway through "Sawan''(the rainy season according to the Indian calendar), it is raining in the desert State.

The rains have washed most of the districts during past two days and as the lakes and ponds have started showing signs of coming back to life, there is a sigh of relief from both the people and the political leadership here.

Yet the joy over the widespread rain coming almost a month behind schedule is momentary as the damage, as far as the crops are concerned, has already been done.

In a predominantly agricultural State like Rajasthan if there is no farming there are no jobs. Till the next Rabi farmers are left with very little income and almost nothing to do. The village economy, plagued by indebtedness brought about by recurring droughts, is bound to take a nosedive farther.

Even with some changes in the cropping pattern, only a little can be done towards production of grains and pulses but the fodder and water part of it is taken care of if the rains continue for the rest of the season.

The rain, even belated, is always like manna - the Rajasthanis call it ghee from above -- as one is guaranteed with the life-saving water in the difficult times when the northern neighbours are denying to Rajasthan even the little water coming from the inter-State river agreements.

The supporters of the Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje, have been quick to term the beatitude of "Indra Bhagwan'' as a result of the prayers and pujas initiated by her in the holy places of all religions during the past six weeks.

The Congress and the Left parties, who called her initiatives "illogical and unscientific'', had been asking her not to "waste'' any more time but to commence relief work.

The State Assembly, which debated the drought situation for a marathon eight hours over the week-end, was unanimous about the seriousness of the situation and opinions varied only when it came to assessing the effectiveness of the drought relief taken by the previous Congress Government in the State, led by Ashok Gehlot.

Though the drought relief by the Gehlot Government was rated the best so far in the State by generally critical NGOs and the experts on calamity relief, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs tried to pick holes in it during the discussion.

While Ms. Raje discussed the relief package that the State wanted from the Centre in Delhi on Friday with the Union Agriculture Secretary, Radha Singh, the Relief Minister told the Assembly that a report on the requirement had placed the relief amount at Rs. 7,719 crores and a grain assistance of 75.47 lakh tonnes. It is to be watched whether political considerations will overweigh the intensity of the human tragedy in the decision-making process.

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Rains bring relief to Rajasthan