Faridabad, July 22
Drought looms large in all districts of south Haryana due to the continuous dry spell and failure of monsoon so far. Farmers whose fields are parched are having sleepless nights as they see no chance of revival of the crops already damaged due to lack of water, even if there some respite from the heat comes in the next few days.

According to Agriculture Department sources and farmers in the district and nearby areas, about 60 per cent to 90 per cent of the standing kharif crop has already perished due to lack of rainfall. As per reports pouring in from the neighbouring districts of Rewari, Gurgaon, Mahendergarh, Jhajjar and parts of Bhiwani, crops of bajra, jowar, paddy and arhar have gone dry. At places, farmers have started uprooting the dried up stems of paddy which is mainly grown in the belt along the Yamuna.

Farmers say that bajra and jowar crops have completely perished. It seems as if the crops had been burnt in the fields.

This region is a dry part of the state and has not been getting adequate canal water for irrigation. Shortage of power has aggravated the situation, says Rampal Singh of Banchari village in the district. He said the crops in the area were mainly dependent on the monsoons as there is no other main source of irrigation here. He said the government should conduct a survey and declare the area as drought hit.

Amar Chand of a village in Hodal subdivision said as their crops had dried up no rainfall or water could revive the crops now. Even if there was adequate rainfall in the next one month, the farmers would have to uproot the present crop and resow which, he said, would be a herculean task.