Jorhat, June 22: Drought-like conditions are gripping villages along the Jorhat–Golaghat border, leaving paddy fields parched, farmland split by deep cracks and hundreds of farmers fearing the collapse of this year’s cultivation season. With June drawing to a close, residents say the region has received virtually no rainfall, and plots that should be filled for paddy transplantation have hardened into fissured soil.
The situation is particularly dire in Premhara village of Sarupathar, where farmers who sowed paddy seedlings in May and June are beginning to lose hope of a successful harvest. Fields that normally hold standing water for young plants are dry, and large fissures are visible across once-productive land.
Sarupathar is one of Assam’s major agrarian belts, where more than 90 percent of the population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture. Farmers typically begin preparations in Jeth (May–June), counting on the monsoon’s timely arrival. This year, the expected rains have failed to materialize, delaying transplantation and threatening crop quality and yields even if rains arrive later.
As anxiety mounts, villagers have resorted to traditional rituals to invoke rain. Frog marriages and Jal Kirtan prayers have been organised in several localities — gestures that reflect both cultural practice and mounting desperation. “This has become a serious concern for us. In our villages, except for one or two people with service jobs, almost everyone depends on farming for survival,” a farmer from Premhara said.
The dry spell has also affected other border villages, including Borhola, Bokajan and Nagabat, where agricultural activity has largely ground to a halt for lack of water. Farmers are urging immediate state intervention. “The government should direct agriculture and irrigation officials to assess the situation. The soil has cracked because of extreme water scarcity and even nearby ponds have failed to provide sufficient water,” one farmer said, warning that prolonged drought could force families to abandon farming.
Villagers allege no government assistance has reached them so far. “We have not received any support from the Agriculture Department till now. If there is no rain during June, there is little value in hoping for a harvest this season,” another farmer said. With farmland continuing to dry and livelihoods at stake, farmers are calling for urgent irrigation support and drought mitigation measures to salvage the cultivation season and protect rural communities.
Original Source: https://assamtribune.com/assam/drought-like-conditions-grip-jorhat-golaghat-villages-farmers-fear-crop-loss-1613387
Category: Assam,Featured
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Publish Date: 2026-06-22 18:13:00
