The month of June has ended yet the clouds have not showered water. The delay of rains has caused a panic in the farmers of Saurashtra. The condition of the people in the city is somewhat better than the people in the villages. It is believed that if the rain does not arrive within next ten days, then the sowing which had been done in Suarashtra could be affected adversely.

The rains have been 79% less as compared to last year. Instead of regular measure of 75.6 mm it has rained only 23 mm, which means it has rained 69% less this monsoon so far. The people in need water the most are the farmers.

Relying on unseasonal showers of June and weather predictions, groundnut has been sown on nearly 3.76 lakh hectares of land while cotton have been sown on about 4.55 lakh hectares of land. Agricultural scientists observing the situation closely said that scarcity of water and the powerful wind have stopped the development of the groundnut crop. If it does not rain within a week or 10 days then the entire sown seeds of groundnut will go waste.

The farmers who have sown cotton are not facing immediate problem yet at this time. But it is doubtful that the seeds will grow. Many farmers of Bhavnagar and Amreli who had sown dry seeds on the expectations of rains are now regretting. The farmers of Naranka Village in Rajkot said that the seeds of the groundnut in nearby farms are safe and even the people who had sown cotton are not having a problem at least at this time. But the problems will arise if it does not rain soon. If it doesn’t rain in July, then the farmers are likely to shift to short time crops.