India, Sept. 30 -- Gujarat recorded 10% below-normal rainfall between June 1 and September 15, 2026, with several districts facing much sharper deficits.

Devbhumi Dwarka recorded an 80% rainfall deficit, followed by Porbandar at 67%, Jamnagar at 50% and Kutch at 39%.

Farmers in Kutch and Saurashtra face crop losses and growing concerns over water and fodder availability.

Despite decades of investment in check dams, ponds and other rainwater harvesting structures, water scarcity remains a recurring problem in the state's arid districts.

"When it rained between July 29 and 31, I sowed castor on my 3-hectare (ha) farmland, but not a single drop of rain fell after that and the entire crop was ruined," says 66-year-old Kanji Bhai Kanjikara...