Kangra farmers worried over two-month dry spell, discharge from rivers, rivulets falls drastically

Farmers in the lower areas of Kangra district are worried over the continuous dry spell for the past two months. Several parts of the district have experienced rainfall below average, adversely affecting the wheat crop.

However, Agriculture Department officials say that there is no immediate threat to the standing crops. Agriculture experts expect better rainfall in December, January and February, which can save the crops from further damage.

A senior officer of the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department says that water discharge from various rivers and rivulets in the Kangra valley has come down to 40 per cent and no rainfall for some more time can lead to a drinking water crisis. Many irrigation channels in the district have gone dry, as there is no water flow from rivers and local khuds. In many areas, the IPH Department is providing drinking water twice a day. The lower areas of Palampur are the worst affected where local water resources have also gone dry.

Many small Hydroelectric power projects in the Kangra valley that got water from the Neugal, Baner, Binwa and Awa khuds have been shut due to the low flow in these rivers. There is no snow on the Dhauladhars, which feed these rivers. Himachal Pradesh is at present in the grip of an unprecedented meteorological event, experiencing the driest winter, as there has been no rain since the first week of September. This dry spell draws comparisons with the exceptional conditions observed in 2023 and 2007 when the rain deficit during the same period was 99 per cent.

The conventional weather conditions required for snowfall involve a collision between cold air from the North Pole and hot air from the Mediterranean region. However, this year, an unusually low wind in the North Pole dominated, leading to a suppressed area of low pressure and disrupting the usual weather patterns. The state is grappling with biting cold wave conditions and dense fog has disrupted normal life in the plains and lower hills of Kangra, Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Solan districts.