Rajasthan's water scarcity ends, danger lifts from nine districts

Image used for representational purpose only.

Till just two months ago, most parts of Rajasthan was in the firm and unforgiving grips of water shortage with several districts here reporting little to no water. Things have changed dramatically in recent weeks, however, with the danger from drought lifted in nine districts.

It is reported that many of the dams in the state which either had no water or very little levels are now almost full to the brim. This is thanks to decent monsoon rains which have quenched the parched lands of the state which had previously become bone dry. Locals, especially farmers, had been grappling with water scarcity with many forced to walk for miles to collect and store supplies. All of that has now changed with taps and tubewells functioning yet again.

The situation has improved vastly since 2018 when dams in the state had - on an average - just 46% water. Now, most of these dams have around 80% water. In particular, the dams in Jaipur area had around 17.8% water in 2018 but now have 63.07%. In dams in Kota, water levels were at 57% in dams here but now have reached 90%. In all, there are 810 dams across the state of which 357 dams are now almost full while another 285 are completely full.

With the passing of the water-shortage crisis, the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan can breathe a sigh of relief even if questions would be asked about the plan regarding the best way to conserve water to prevent a similar crisis in the future.