Banaskantha (Gujarat): Truant monsoon has wreaked havoc on Gujarat. The prices of dal and vegetables are skyrocketing in the northern parts of the state, and in others parts there are villages reeling under sever water crisis.
The lifeline for 4,000 villagers of Dodusan, a border village in north Gujarat, a well, has dried up. Sometimes a little rainwater accumulates and villagers race to collect the drops.
"There is just no water. It has become a rare commodity. We are surviving somehow. The government and local leaders don't care," said Sita, a villager.
A tanker arrives with 10,000 litres of water once a day, which is 2.5 litres for each villager. The queues form at daybreak. The old and feeble never quite manage to get near the tap.
"Just one tanker full of water for the entire village. Look at the well, it is dry," said Parimal, a villager.
Gujarat has received less than 20 per cent of its annual average rainfall. And the northern areas, being its driest belt, are struggling.
"Unless we get rains over the next one week, we shall have a real crisis on hand," said Gujarat Cabinet Minister Jay Narayan Vyas.
A canal, meant to fetch water from the Narmada, has been lying dry since it was constructed in 2007.
While the Gujarat government's tall talk of providing water in every village in the state now sounds hollow, it is evident that the much-hyped Narmada Project has failed miserably as far as its mission to make Gujarat water-sufficient is concerned. The scarcity has already sparked off mini water riots. And the fear is that blood will be spilt over water.
"When there is a bit of rain, people fight over water. God knows when this will change," said Parimal.
The irony
The picture is one of stark contrasts in the state. While much of north Gujarat is without water, incessant rain in west Gujarat has caused a river to overflow and has flooded vast areas of the coastal district of Junagadh.
Close to 4,000 people have been evacuated from the port towns of Verabal and Mangrol and neighbouring villages.
Rescue teams have been dispatched to the flood-hit areas and the administration has been put on the high alert. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also been deployed.
According to Metrological department, the southwest monsoon has been vigorous in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat along with Gangetic West Bengal, Rajasthan, Goa and Madhya Maharashtra.
It has been, however, subdued over coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and Tamil Nadu.
Over 150 fishermen near the Rupen port in Dwarka taluka of Jamnagar district were also moved from their settlements along the coastline to safer locations due to heavy rains in the region since Wednesday, they said.
While rains pounded country's business capital Ahmedabad leading to water logging in several parts of the city and affected traffic, more than 200 people were shifted to safer places in Saurashtra and south Gujarat in the western state due to inundation.
Incessant rains have also led to water logging in Surajkaradi village of Dwarka taluka, officials said, adding Dwarka has received 249 mm rainfall since Wednesday.
(With PTI inputs)