Masaurhi women pray for normal monsoon after Bihar faces 49 percent rain deficit

After waiting for the last two weeks, women of Masaurhi block in Patna district resorted to the final option of offering prayer to the Rain God for good monsoon. [caption id=“attachment_2396674” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Monsoon had officially arrived in the state but lost its intensity soon affecting sowing of paddy crops. Initially, the farmers were upbeat about the Meteorological Department prediction of normal monsoon but now they are depending on bore well for sowing paddy which is a costly affair. The poor women of Kadirganj started praying in the open field. “After two years, my husband decided to grow paddy as he was expecting a good monsoon but we are still waiting for rain. We can’t afford to irrigate from bore wells. Pump owners demand Rs 80 an hour. This is out of bound for us,” Sangeeta Devi from the village said. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reviewed the flood and drought situation on Saturday and asked officials to be ready with relief and rehabilitation plans. The vice-chairman of the state’s disaster management department Vyasji informed on Tuesday that Bihar witnessed 49 percent rain deficit in June. This data for June is the lowest in the last 30 years.