Gujarat ready with contingency plan if rains elude

GANDHINAGAR - Gujarat agriculture officials met here Saturday to discuss the impact of scanty rainfall on groundnut, cotton and other crops. The state has also readied a contingency plan in case the monsoon eludes till July 10.

The contingency plan involves sending drinking water tankers to 600 villages on a daily basis in dry central and north Gujarat regions.

Farmers in the state are most likely to be advised to sow seeds for short duration crops after July 10, said a senior official in the chief minister’s office here.