GANDHINAGAR: With the blazing sun scorching the state and fast drying up its water resources, a desperate Gujarat government is now seeking “divine intervention” for good rains this monsoon.

The Vijay Rupani-led BJP government has decided to hold 41 ‘parjanya yagnas’ on May 31 in its 33 districts and eight major cities to appease Lord Indra (rain god) and Lord Varun (water god).

The yagnas will also mark the culmination of the Gujarat government’s month-long drive, ‘ Sujlam Suflam Jal Abhiyaan ’. The drive was undertaken to de-silt and deepen rivers, lakes, pond, canals and other water bodies to harvest more rain water during the forthcoming monsoon season.

The decision to perform the yagnas was taken at the cabinet meeting held on Wednesday. Deputy CM Nitin Patel said, “The government has decided to organise parjanya yagnas on May 31 to pray for good monsoon. The yagnas will be held at 41 places across Gujarat after which prasad will be distributed. Myself, along with CM Vijay Rupani , state ministers and senior officers will take part in the yagnas, which will be followed by a public meeting.”

Gujarat is battling acute water crisis this summer. At the peak of this summer, the 204 dams across the state have only 29% of their total storage capacity of 25,227 million cubic meter (MCM). With Lok Sabha elections due in 2019, the Rupani government’s concerns stem from fear that any delayed or deficit rains this monsoon could hamper its poll fortunes by stoking unrest.

