In keeping with the States of Haryana and Punjab which have been declared drought-hit as they have recorded 66 and 67 per cent less rain this monsoon, the demand for declaring Delhi, with 61 per cent deficient rainfall, as “drought-hit” was raised on behalf of local farmers here on Tuesday.
At a meeting with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Naresh Kumar demanded that the State Government also propose to the Centre to declare the Capital “drought-hit” as that would help in providing financial assistance to the farmers in its 191 villages.
As per the records of the State Revenue Department, farming is still practised in 191 of Delhi’s 360 villages. And this year, as against the normal average rainfall of 420.6 mm, only 164.9 mm of rain had been recorded till August 13.
Stating that Delhi was witnessing a drought as there was 61 per cent less rain, Dr. Kumar appealed to Ms. Dikshit to raise the matter with the Centre so that the farmers could be given adequate compensation for the loss of crops.
